Special
Types of hygrometers
WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE? HOW TO MAINTAIN THE CORRECT LIMITS WITH VARIOUS TYPES OF SUBFLOORS Pieter Rozema (Brookhuis Applied Data Intelligence BV - NL) ‘To measure is to know: Something can be present, even if you can’t see it.’ When this Dutch company from Enschede was founded over a century ago in 1920, they concentrated on specialist measurement equipment. For the first few decades, they worked on textiles, but from 1960 they changed course with an extension towards the wood industry. Then, they launched a device on the market which set the standard in the Netherlands for wood hygrometers. Nowadays, Brookhuis is a global authority in hygrometers and wood strength meters. The company launches measuring systems on the market for measuring damp content from the time when the wood is sawn up to and including the time when a floor is made and is already fitted. They also have measuring systems to detect cracks in the wood even before it becomes an end product. Have you put your data to work? We called on Pieter Rozema, Brookhuis’ chief technical officer, to ask mainly how his company sets about measuring damp in wood. The company slogan best summarises his reply: ‘Have you put your data to work?’Basically, this means: ‘Don’t forget to use the information which you collect!’ Pieter Rozema tells us: ‘The best way to start is to outline who we are to help people understand the products better. We supply our measuring equipment all over the world, not only to floor fitters or the wood trade, but also to parquet manufacturers. In the parquet industry you can call us a big player, although most people only know us for our hygrometers for floor fitters and end users, whereas the real work is actually done beforehand.’ Mr Rozema shows us a film clip about the activities of Brookhuis in the wood industry to explain the slogan clearly. You’ve collected a lot of information, and that’s fine, but the key thing is to use that information to draw the right conclusions. Much broader than just the parquet industry ‘What it boils down to is that information is much more important than the equipment itself. It all revolves around what you do with that equipment,’ he explains. ‘We also offer much more than just hygrometers. An important point in the professional wood trade is that we can also measure the strength of the wood for construction applications and we’ve developed special scanner systems to detect cracks in the wood and to distinguish heart wood from sap wood.’ ‘In the parquet trade we’re known mainly for our “hand-held” hygrometers. We operate on the basis of two principles. Either we put the meter simply onto the wood, or we drive an electrode into the wood. And so, it’s a question of whether or not to damage the wood to make a measurement, and each device is more or less suitable in specific circumstances.’ It always has to be correct Pieter Rozema stresses that all Brookhuis measuring instruments have to comply with the highest possible standards and store a maximum of data. This data serves as the basis for drawing up a report. That is important in matters such a damage claims. ‘We’re quite proud of the fact that our meters never deviate, whatever happens to them or wher-ever in the world they are used, whatever the weather conditions. Our clients know that whatever they buy from us always works correctly,’ he explains. ‘We give a
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