All the various advantages of steel are opposed by one indisputable disadvantage: Steel corrodes. Alloys and coating materials for anti-corrosion protection can be a solution however.
Passive anti-.corrosion protection requires the application of organic or inorganic coating material. Inorganic protective coatings are mostly manufactured using various galvanising processes. The impermeability against affecting media of the coating material used is of special importance to its protective capability. Pores can lead to sub-surface corrosion and destruction of the coating. Therefore, several layers of coatings are applied to ensure lasting protection of large steel constructions. In addition to the careful selection of accurate coating, material the quality of the coating work is of utmost importance to the durability of the coatings applied.

Safety through anti-corrosion protection inspections.
The cost of anti-corrosion protection is compared to the possible obsolescence of constructions and the additional cost caused by downtime (e.g. breaking of transmission line lattice masts and the following power outage) usually very low.
Due to the enormous importance of anti-corrosion protection to economy and business, its safe completion and inspection are subject to numerous rules and regulations. In Germany, for instance DIN standards regulate the inspection of coating thicknesses.
As the protection and safety of large steel constructions is of such importance the DIN EN ISO 12944 Part 7 "Corrosion protection of steel structures by paint systems - execution and supervision of coating work" explicitly specifies under sub-section 6.3 the use of magnet-inductive or eddy-current devices. In praxis, such anti-corrosion protection measurement devices are of particular advantage when easy-to-calibrate and safe-to-use.

Transmitting measurements accurately and without interference via radio, state-of-the-art wireless measurement devices offer increased safety.
Working on steel constructions such as lattice masts and antennae, where coating thickness can only be determined when climbing the QNix® Keyless-devices and the modular measurement system QNix® 8500 have proven to be of particular advantage. Thanks to the hand-strip fitted to the extremely small measurement probes of the 8500 system, free movement and safe undisrupted measuring is possible. Additionally, the radio-controlled probe QNix® 8500 allows wireless transmission of measurements via radio to a basis station on the ground, where the data can be checked, recorded and documented conveniently and without error. The world wide new radio-controlled probe from AUTOMATION Dr. Nix safely transmits data measured for instance in the great height of an energy mast without interference to a basis station 50 meters distant: a notebook or a PC with which thousands of measurements can be processed and documented using Excel.