industries
Protecting Africa’s Critical Infrastructure With Proven UV Detection Technology.
What OFIL Technology Does.
OFIL systems use solar-blind ultraviolet cameras to detect corona partial discharge (PD) — the electrical activity that signals insulation breakdown, contamination, or component defects in high-voltage infrastructure. Detected early, these faults are manageable. Left undetected, they become outages, equipment failures, and safety incidents. As the authorised distributor for OFIL products in Africa, Kilima KTTC brings these inspection and diagnostics capabilities to the industries and operators who need them most on the continent.
Electrical
Keeping Africa’s Power Grid Reliable Starts With Seeing What’s Going Wrong.
Power demand across Africa is growing faster than most grid infrastructure was designed to handle. Aging components, overloaded lines, and deferred maintenance create conditions where undetected faults multiply. OFIL UV inspection systems give utilities the visibility to identify those faults early, without taking systems offline to do it.
Generation Switchyards and Power Plants
Corona partial discharge in generation switchyards develops in transformer bushings, insulators, and conductors. Undetected, it leads to unplanned outages that are expensive and disruptive. OFIL UV cameras identify PD at an early stage, enabling predictive maintenance that keeps generation assets running and reduces emergency callouts. Stator windings in electrical generators are also a priority application: UV inspection detects early insulation degradation before winding failures take a unit offline.
Transmission, Distribution, and Substations
Whether it’s an overhead transmission line, a distribution network, or a substation switchyard, partial discharge is a persistent challenge for African utilities operating in harsh environmental conditions. OFIL cameras work during normal operations, pinpointing discharge locations accurately without service interruptions. The Gridnostic platform centralises inspection data from UV, thermal, and visual cameras into one system, allowing maintenance teams to quantify fault severity and plan interventions based on actual risk rather than scheduled guesswork.
Common Use Cases
Interested in OFIL solutions for your utility operation?
Rotating Machines
Insulation Failures in Motors and Generators Don’t Have to Be a Surprise.
Electric motors and generators operate in conditions where insulation integrity is everything. Whether you’re manufacturing new units, overhauling existing ones, or developing higher-voltage EV motors, early detection of partial discharge prevents the failures that cause downtime, warranty claims, and safety incidents.
EV Motors
As electric vehicle manufacturers adopt 600V and higher voltage systems, insulation demands increase significantly and with them the risk of partial discharge. OFIL UV cameras provide precise, non-invasive detection of external PD during surge and Hi-Pot testing. This allows EV motor manufacturers to identify design flaws, material inconsistencies, and inadequate insulation layers before units leave the production line.
Industrial Motors and Generators
For rotating machine OEMs, repair workshops, and operators of industrial motors and generators, OFIL inspection tools provide accurate pinpointing and visualisation of external partial discharge activity. This supports quality control at manufacturing stage and proactive maintenance throughout the equipment’s operational life, extending lifespan and reducing unplanned downtime.
Windings and Coil Manufacturers
Winding manufacturers and coil producers use OFIL UV cameras during production and testing phases to detect corona and surface PD issues before components are installed. Identifying faults at this stage is significantly less costly than addressing them after installation or, worse, after a failure in the field.
Looking to inspect or qualify rotating machine insulation in Africa?
Industrial
High-Voltage Faults in Industrial Environments Are Costly. Early Detection Changes That.
Mining operations, oil and gas facilities, industrial plants, and data centres all depend on electrical infrastructure that runs hard and is difficult to inspect safely during operation. OFIL UV corona cameras are built for exactly these environments: they detect partial discharge faults without requiring systems to shut down, and they work in the harsh, variable conditions that define African industrial sites.
Data Centres
Data centres need uninterrupted power. Their substations operate under significant load, often in compact, high-humidity environments where insulation deteriorates faster than expected. Corona PD in this context leads to insulation failures and service outages that affect every client and system the facility supports. OFIL UV cameras identify PD faults during live operation, allowing maintenance teams to act before outages occur.
- High humidity and condensation causing insulation breakdown
- Heavy continuous loads increasing fault probability
- Compact substation layouts making conventional inspection impractical
Mining and Industrial Plants
Mining operations across Africa run electrical infrastructure across remote, rugged environments where safety incidents are serious and maintenance access is limited. OFIL inspection tools let operators monitor high-voltage equipment and identify PD faults without taking systems offline or putting personnel in proximity to live high-voltage assets.
- Reduced unplanned downtime across high-value equipment
- Safer inspection of live high-voltage infrastructure
- Predictive maintenance based on real fault data, not guesswork
Operating an industrial facility or data centre across Africa?
Manufacturers
Quality Control for High-Voltage Components Requires the Right Inspection Tools.
Manufacturers of insulators, cables, transformers, and medium and high-voltage components need to know that what leaves their facility performs to specification under real operating conditions. Corona partial discharge detected during production is a quality control issue. The same fault detected after installation is a reliability problem, a warranty problem, and potentially a safety problem.
Insulators
Insulators prevent short circuits by maintaining safe separation between conductors and grounded structures. Corona PD in insulators, caused by insulation degradation, contamination, or environmental stress, is a primary failure mode. OFIL UV cameras integrated into production and testing processes allow manufacturers to identify PD issues during design validation and quality control, ensuring that only components meeting reliability standards leave the factory.
Cables, Transformers, and HV Components
For cable and transformer manufacturers, and operators of HV testing laboratories, OFIL provides inspection tools that detect external partial discharge during type testing, routine testing, and periodic inspection. This enables manufacturers to pinpoint design weaknesses, improve production processes, and validate that components comply with applicable standards before they reach the field.
Manufacturing or testing high-voltage components in Africa?
Railways
Rail Networks Can’t Afford Overhead Line Failures. Neither Can the Passengers.
Railway infrastructure across Africa is expanding. As electrified networks grow, so does the importance of maintaining the overhead lines and traction substations that power them. Failures in overhead components are among the leading causes of service disruption on electrified railway systems. OFIL UV inspection tools give network operators and maintenance teams a way to find those faults before they cause incidents.
Overhead Lines
Overhead contact lines are exposed to contamination, environmental stress, and the wear that comes with continuous operation. Corona PD develops in insulators, conductors, and hardware across the overhead system and is difficult to detect by conventional inspection methods. OFIL UV cameras can be mounted on the roof of passenger or dedicated inspection trains, enabling continuous, on-the-move inspection without taking services out of operation. Faults are pinpointed accurately so maintenance interventions target real problems, not just scheduled inspection zones.
Traction Substations
Traction substations supply and regulate the power that electrified rail networks depend on. Like utility substations, they are vulnerable to corona PD in switchgear, insulators, and busbars. OFIL UV cameras detect discharge activity during live operation, giving maintenance teams the information they need to prioritise repairs and prevent substation faults from cascading into network-wide outages.
Responsible for railway infrastructure inspection in Africa?
Not Sure Which Solution Fits Your Operation?
Tell us what you’re working with and what you’re trying to solve. We’ll come back to you with the right OFIL product recommendation and availability in your market.
