Oil Analysis is not a new concept and is widely recognised as a valid condition monitoring and maintenance technique. The condition of your oil will determine the efficiency and productivity of your equipment. Poor quality oil can reduce output, reduce equipment life, and cause accelerated wear and break downs. Of the three primary PdM technologies, oil analysis provides the most information for equipment ‘end of life’ decisions.
Lab testing is the traditional method of oil analysis and is most effective when samples are analysed on a regular basis allowing a trend analysis to be developed. With critical machine failure potentially costing thousands of pounds per hour the key focus of lab analysis has always been identifying faults and potential failures at an early stage. Over the past decade in-line oil analysis has gained popularity and has shown significant benefits over traditional sampling and lab analysis, but there is still a fixation on lab replication. By focusing on failure prevention, are we missing a trick? Can we utilise the results from real-time oil monitoring for alternative operational and financial gains within the company?
92% of oil analysis readings, either from labs or in-line monitoring, highlight no issues in the lubricant, therefore we resume normal operation and abide by routine preventative maintenance procedures usually under manufacturer guidelines. It is only in 8% of circumstances we act upon results where issues have been highlighted, either through further sampling, maintenance or repair, and only in 2% of these cases the results allow failure prevention by identifying the root cause of oil contamination.
Focusing on failure prevention, will obviously save a company lots of money by preventing complete equipment overhaul, but what about saving money in the other 98% of cases? Oil analysis can provide a wealth of information about the health of both the machine and the oil, and can be used to extend service intervals, and optimise the RUL of the lubricant. As well as the cost of failure and downtime, Tan Delta’s Full Spectrum Holistic (FSHTM) monitoring can be used to:
– Reduce overall maintenance costs by an average 30%
– Reduce sampling costs by up to 80%
– Extend service intervals and therefore reduce oil purchase and disposal costs by an average 20%
– Increase equipment availability by a 5%