ENHANCING EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF OIL ANALYSIS AND PARTICLE COUNTING

Monitor Internal Conditions from the Outside

Oil analysis is a diagnostic, predictive maintenance tool for monitoring and evaluating lubricant and equipment conditions. Participating in an oil analysis program allows you to see what's happening inside your equipment to identify issues, prevent catastrophic failures and increase equipment reliability.

Testing and analysis provide vital information as to the condition of both the oil and the equipment being tested. Wear particles and contamination concerns can be identified using several methods and, if left unchecked can severely affect equipment performance and reliability or cause a significant failure. In addition, sources and causes of equipment issues like abnormal wear, lube degradation, and component failures can be identified and mitigated.

Predict Maintenance

Playing a crucial role in predictive maintenance strategies, oil analysis results can help foresee maintenance needs by providing early indicators of potential issues, including fuel dilution, excessive idling, and component malfunctions. Establishing and monitoring trends within the oil properties can identify changes or deviations from normal operating conditions and may reveal deteriorating conditions, increased contamination levels, and degradation of the lubricant,

Establishing a trending history of oil analysis for equipment components can give early indications for maintenance activities like oil changes, filter replacements, and component repairs before the concerns turn to failure.

Oil Analysis Value: More Than Testing

Standard oil analysis tests include Elemental Analysis by ICP Fuel Dilution, Nitration/ Oxidation, Acid Number/Base Number, Viscosity, Particle Count, and many more. Each of these tests, performed by an accredited laboratory, provides equipment users with test results with severities, a review by a Data Analysts team, and maintenance recommendations to address the identified concern.