SIRIS™ Infrared Inspection

Brake problems have been identified as a contributing factor in more than a third of all fatal large truck accidents. Current inspection practice can only evaluate the brakes of a small fraction of vehicles on the highways. Placing SIRIS along an entrance roadway to a fixed inspection site will increase the percentage of vehicles that are screened for possible brake problems. Generally speaking, SIRIS flags as suspect brakes that are too hot, which indicates a dragging brake condition, or too cold, which suggests a particular brake is not working when it should be.

While overheated bearings are not a particularly frequent problem during commercial vehicle inspections, a poorly lubricated bearing can rapidly lead to catastrophic failure of a wheel resulting in a fire, a seized bearing that could drastically alter the handling capability of the vehicle, or loss of the entire wheel. In the latter situation, innocent travelers have been killed when a truck wheel crashed into their vehicles. SIRIS has successfully identified vehicles with overheated bearings.

The tire forms the crucial connection between the vehicle and the road surface. Faulty tires undermine the integrity of that connection and present a very real hazard to the truck and others on the highway. SIRIS has demonstrated an ability to detect tires that are underinflated, that have exposed radial steel belts, and that have partial delamination of tread. In fact, problems seen in tires can often be traced back to other issues, such as poorly distributed loads and problems with air suspension systems.