Hot Head Contest - A Learning Tool with the Pros

Joel Leonard ... Eric Stockton ... Ralph "Pete" Peters ...

The Hot Head Contest was fortunate to have three men who travel the globe working with the engineering and maintenance industries. Ralph "Pete" Peters, founder of The Maintenance Excellence Institute in Raleigh, was the judge for the Hot Head Contest. He trains engineers and maintenance people all over the world. Eric Stockton, owner of Stockton Infrared in Level Cross, travels worldwide photographing buildings looking for leakage and other things. Joel Leonard is an international speaker and writer working to increase awareness about how lucrative the engineering and maintenance fields can be. He is the host of SkillTV.net. Yes, plumbers, electricians and pipe fittters are included in this type of career.

Pete submitted this recap...

Chili cook-offs come and go, but Joel Leonard’s Hot Heads Contest on April 18, 2009 was a very special event. First, the crowd of hundreds learned about “hotness”, then about sauce so hot that medics would be needed if you tried it. They then learned about how to measure hotness of one’s head after eating hot sauce of your choice. It was a head-warming event using the science and technology of infrared imaging, thermography to determine the winner.

So what is so special about crazy people eating bagel bits dipped in hot, hotter and the hottest sauce even made? For one, the thermal imaging system and camera used by Stockton Infrared cost a cool $35-$40,000 and some even much, much more. But the use of infrared scanning pays for itself, ten times over by eliminating catastrophic failures and costly maintenance repairs caused by excessive heat in mechanical and electrical devices. The Asheboro throng of great NC people learned a great deal about one of today’s predictive maintenance technologies.

But, the brave Hot Head contestants were trying to generate as much heat as possible. One brave young man was at 121 degrees F and in the TOP 3 and was going to be our winner. He quit eating the “hot stuff”, waited for the last round of the Top 3 and as a result he dropped to second place in the finals as he dropped to only 105 degrees F

Also something else really special happened as well. As a Judge, I could hear people talking among themselves. Things such as; “Are you kidding me! Maintenance people can use this thing in a plant? And one lady beside him said, Yea Man! You can even use it to check roofs as well for water seepage and leakage down wall. But you gotta be up in a tall, tall pine tree or riding in a helicopter or plane to take them pictures!”

Finally, Joel made the crowd understand the importance of maintenance and this one very important tool; thermography or infrared scanning. Maintenance has gone well beyond the simple tool bag hammer, pliers screwdriver and adjustable wrench days. The Asheboro crowd now understands more about mission essential maintenance, hot sauces and the Scoville Scale for measuring the level of hotness in “hot stuff”. Fun was had by all, even those contestants still on fire after the Hot Head winner had his fire put out with “the old Gatorade water cooler over the head” traditional celebration of his red hot victory.

Ralph W. “Pete” Peters
April 21, 2009
http://www.pride-in-maintenance.com/