Oil analysis allows operators to pinpoint and plan optimal maintenance based upon early indicators of lubricant or machine degradation. By carefully selecting equipment for oil analysis, plant operators can maximise machine uptime, product quality and overall profitability.
So, where to start? Rather than picking random machines to evaluate, a comprehensive survey and Equipment Criticality Ranking (ECR) should be carried out. Operating characteristics, repair history, production and maintenance records should be reviewed, as well as failure probability and consequences of unexpected shutdown on all equipment throughout the plant, to give a full picture of site-wide asset criticality, e.g.
– Repair history: If a machine has a frequent or recent history of operational issues, monitoring this equipment could help avoid recurring failures.
– Operating characteristics: If a machine is subjected to water or certain types of solid contaminants or the equipment is affected by external contaminants (e.g. high temperatures, outdoor locations, uncovered, submerged etc.), signs of wear debris could be actively monitored to allow early identification of failure modes.
– Failure probability: Equipment should be assessed based on the likelihood of contamination, e.g. a diesel engine would rank highly as the engine oil is constantly exposed to high temperatures, soot, fuel and water contaminants. This ranked list could help determine where real-time monitoring would be most effective.
A multitude of factors plays into selecting the best equipment to monitor, and a comprehensive ECR often highlights that it is not always focused on the most expensive machine on site. For example, consider the failure of an oil lubricated bearing on a supply air fan for a main engine cooling system. The bearing replacement cost is relatively low, but due to its’ role on the larger scale of the Plant’s operation, failure could mean tens of thousands of pounds in lost production for every hour of downtime. Even with a good repair history, the relative cost of oil analysis is low compared with the overall value of this condition monitoring approach.
Tan Delta are working with a multi-national brewer at their plant in the Netherlands, fitting oil monitoring systems to critical gearboxes across all plant conveyors. The costs of gearbox and conveyor repair is very low, compared with the huge late delivery penalty charges imposed by major supermarkets and stockists, which can stretch into tens of thousands of euros for every hour of lost production. Selecting the best machines to monitor in your organisation can lead to a significant reduction in downtime and parts inventory, increased productivity, an improvement operational practices and ultimately an increase in profit.