six ways to improve your oil analysis program

7/28/2019 Six Ways to Improve Your Oil Analysis Program

1/17

Ways To

IMPROVEYour

Oil Anal sis

Tactics To Avoid Failure & Embrace Success

Program


2/17

Page2 www.TESTOIL.com

SuccessfulTakeoffThesuccessofanylubeanalysisprogramis

oftendependant

on

proper

planning

and

execution. Muchlikeanairlineflightwhose

crewmustperformadetailedchecklistof

activitiesbeforetheplaneisapprovedfor

takeoff,alubeanalysisprogramshouldbe

designedwithvariouschecksandbalances,

standards,procedures,

and

other

verificationstoensureitssuccess.

Followingareafewkeyitemstoconsider:PlanningIsVitalPlanning

should

be

amajor

component

to

the

development

of

any

lube

analysis

program. Themostsuccessfulprogramsarecarefullydesignedandhaveclearly

establishedobjectivesandgoals.

TrainYourStaffItisalsoagoodideatotrainyoursampletakersbecauseeventhebestlaidoutplans

can

fail

if

they

are

not

executed

precisely.

SeekOutProfessionalAssistanceWhensettingupalubeanalysisprogram,itwouldbewisetoenlisttheservicesofa

professional. Thispersoncanaudityourfacilitytohelpyoudetermineexactlywhat

testsyouneedtoperformoneachpieceofequipmentandcreateascheduleforthe

frequencythosetestsshouldberun.


3/17


DDooTThheeMMaatthhTherearemorethan20millionoilsamplescollectedannuallyacrosstheUS,withanaveragecostpersampleof$20.(Understandthatthereisahugedifferencebetweenindustrialsamplesandcommercialsamples,sothisaveragecostpersamplemayvarybasedonatestpackage). Thisworksouttobenearly$400millioninannualspending.Assuminga10xreturnoninvestmentthisshouldresultinayieldof$4billionsavingsfortheindustry. Youmayquestionthepossibilityofseeinga10foldROI,butitisachievable. IpersonallymanagedoneofthelargestreliabilityprogramsintheworldandIcantellyouthatweconsistentlyreturnedmuchmorethana10xreturnyieldonacost

of

benefit

ratio.

We

consistently

beat

vibration

analysis,

infrared,

motor

current,

ultrasonicswithourcostofbenefitreturn. Withasolidprogramandagoodrelationshipwithyourlab,itispossible.

DontBiteOffMoreThanYouCanChewMany

lube

analysis

programs

are

failures.

Maybenottotalfailures,buttheyare

almostcertainlynotdeliveringtheresults

theycouldbeandshouldbe. Thereare

varyingreasonsforthis. Manypeople

jumprightintoaprogramandbiteoff

morethan

they

can

chew.

Be

aware

that

ifyoutrytotackletoomuchupfront,

failurecouldbetheinevitable

consequence.

Also,beawarethatifanewprogram

doesn'tshow

almost

immediate

cost

savingssomewhere,othersmaylose

confidenceandrespectfortheprogram.

Oncetheprogramlosesrespect,whether

it'sinaplantorsomewhereelseinthe

company,itwillbedifficulttoregainit.


4/17


EstablishProperSamplingProceduresSamplingisthemostimportantpartof

anylubeanalysisprogramandthequality

ofyoursamplesisvitaltothesuccessof

yourprogram. Rememberthatyouget

outof

aprogram

exactly

what

you

put

intoit. Haveyouheardthecomputer

analogyyougetoutwhatyouputin?

Thiscanalsobeappliedtoyourlube

analysisprogram. Yourlabcanonlysend

youresultsbasedonwhatyousendthem.

Thatis

why

it

is

so

important

to

get

consistentsamplesfromtheexactsame

placeeverytimeasampleistaken.

Thoughtheimportanceofsamplingis

undeniable,itisoftenconsideredthe

Achillesheelofmostprograms. Itisthe

weakspotandthesamplingmethodsare

largelythe

cause.

Rememberifyoursamplingmethodsare

inconsistentthenyouwillmostlikelyhave

inconsistentandinaccuratetestresults.

Tocombatthis,considerstandardizing

yoursampling

method

and

train

all

samplerstoproperlyusethemethodyou

choose.

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Page5 www.TESTOIL.comom

TTiimm''ssWWaarrSSttoorryy

"Onetimeacompanyhiredmetotraintheirsamplers. Thecompanyusedthedroptubemethod to collect their samples so Igrabbeda line of tubeand began wakingaroundtakingsampleswithatrainee. Atthefirstpieceofequipment Icuta lineoftubeandtookasampleandthenthrewtheusedtubeaway. ThetraineeimmediatelystoppedmeandaskedwhyIwasthrowingawaythetube. Iwasshockedtolearnthathewastaughttoreusethetube."Samplestakenfromadroptubeordrainporthaveahighestpotentialofproducing

inconsistencyamongsamples. Insituationswheredroptubevacuumsamplingmustbe

usedoncirculatingsystems,thebestsamplinglocationisbetweenthereturnlineand

thesuctionline,asshownbelow.Thisisknownastheshortcircuit. Inaddition,tubing

shouldneverbereused. Tominimizesamplecontaminationanewlineoftubeshould

beusedforeachsampletaken.

Sampling Reservoir


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3

Ifimpropersamplingproceduresarehinderingyourprogram,herearefourwaysyoucanremedytheproblem.

StriveforDedicatedSamplePortsTherearethreebasicwaystotakeasample:fromthedrainport;usinga

droptubeandvacuumpump;orfromadedicatedsamplevalve. Thefirst

twomethodsarethemostlikelytoproduceacontaminatedsample,anditis

fairtosaythatbetweenthemtheyaccountformorethan95%ofsamples

extracted. Thebestwaytoensureanaccuratesampleistakenistousea

pitottubeoraballvalve. Byusingeitherofthesedevisesyouwillbepulling

samplesfromthesameplace,andwithjustalittletraining,itcanbedone

exactlythesamewayeverytime,whichincreasestheconsistencyofyour

samples.

TraintheSampleTakersEvenagoodsamplelocationcanprovideabadsample. Thatiswhyitis

necessarytotrainyoursampletakers. Samplesshouldbetakenbywell

trainedpeoplewhoknowhow,when,whereandwhytotakeasample.

OnsiteLubeAuditsAn

audit

can

help

you

to

develop

an

effective

lube

analysis

program.

Generallyanauditorwillinvestigateseveralareasincluding:equipment

criticality,pastperformance,safetyhazardsassociatedwithequipment

failure,newlubeusageandcurrentpractices. Fromtheretheycanhelpyou

focustheeffortsofyourlubetestingprogrambyestablishingsimple

objectives. Basedonthoseobjectives,theproperelementsoftheprogram

canbeidentifiedtoaccomplisheffectivemaintenancepractices.

2

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Page7 www.TESTOIL.comom

CrossPlantAuditIn

addition

to

aprofessional

audit,

consider

across

plant

audit.

Bring

in

yourcounterpartsfromotherplantsitesandletthemaudityourprogram.

Bydoingacrossplantaudityoumayfindthatsomeofthepracticesand

proceduresthathavebecomenormalatyourplantsitemaynotbecorrect.

CHALLENGEQUESTION:Do

you

know

how

much

spill

protection

is

required

by

OSHA

in

your lube rooms? Theanswer is,110%of the largest container

youhaveintheluberoom. Thisisjustanexampleofthekindof

informationyoumaynotknow,butoneofyourcolleaguesmight.


8/17


AvoidDelaysInReceivingResultsShipsamplesastheyarecollectedBasically,theinformationcontainedin

yoursamplebeginstolooseitsvalue

almostassoonasthesamplehasbeen

taken.This

is

why

you

should

ship

samplesassoonastheyarecollected. If

youwaittosendsamplestothelabyou

runtheriskofnotcatchingpotential

problemsthatcanbedetrimentaltoyour

plantsoperations.

AccuratesampleidentificationlabelsLabsreceivesamplesfromcustomersin

manyinterestingpackages. Someare

missinglabelsandsomeareeven

submittedinoldwaterbottles. Obviously,

this

makes

it

difficult

for

the

lab

to

producetimelyandaccuratetestresults,

butthiscanalsoaffecttheintegrityof

yourprogram. Mostlabswillsupplyyou

withbottlesandlabels. Withproper

labelingandbyusingappropriatebottling,

youcancreateavaluabledatabaseof

historyforyourequipment.

SamplenotificationprocessYoushouldexpecttohaveareportinyourhandswithin24to48hoursofyoursamplereachingthelaboratory,assumingnospecializedtestingisnecessary. Therearedifferentwaysto

receiveresults,

but

the

most

effective

is

viatheInternet. Yourlabshouldprovide

youwithonlineaccesstoyourresultsand

trackyourmachineshistorythrougha

databaseallowingyoutomanageand

analyzeit. Thisdatabasecanalsogiving

you

the

data

you

need

to

prove

that

your

programiseffective. Afterall,noone

knowsyourequipmentbetterthanyou

andyoushouldbeabletomanageyour

programsittingatyourdesk.

22


9/17


Imnotsurewhatswrongwithyou. Wellhavetowaitfortheresultsfromtheautopsy.

LearnHowToInterpretTestResultsTrainyourmaintenanceprofessionalTooofteninlubeanalysisthefailureofa

programcanbeattributedtothelackof

interpretationoftheconditionsreport

andan

inappropriate

response

to

the

results.Whenthishappens,valuable

informationislost. Thereasonforthis

canlargelybeattributedtothelackof

trainingofyourmaintenance

professionals. Withoutasolid

understandingof

the

purpose

of

lube

analysisandtheabilitytointerprettest

resultstheycannotbeexpectedtocarry

outthisduty. Maintenanceprofessionals

shouldreceivetrainingandeducationin

lubeanalysis. Infact,trainingand

educationshouldoccuratseveral

differentlevelsandwitheveryonewho

contributestomachinereliability,from

managementall

the

way

to

craftsmen.

YourLabsResponsibilitiesYourlabshouldalsobeadeptat

interpretingresults. Manylabsadvertise

thattheiranalystshavedegrees,but

whenit

comes

to

analyzing

test

results

experienceinthefieldisparamount.

Makesuretheanalystseducationis

relevantandnotetheexperienceofthe

technicalpeopleinthelabaswell.

ProperTrainingIsVital

TrainingcanbeaccomplishedthroughseminarsandtrainingclassesofferedbyTESTOIL,includingonsitetrainingworkshopsandwebinarpresentations.

33


10/17


ImpropertestpackageselectionTest

packages

should

be

designed

specificallyforeachpieceofequipment.

Generally,whenasampleisanalyzedbya

laboratory,thebasictestingforeach

pieceofequipmentisapplied.However,

therearemanymoretestsavailablethat

shouldbe

considered,

particularly

when

abnormaloperationisobservedor

suspected.

Unfortunately,correcttestselectionis

somethingthat

you

will

likely

need

to

driveyourselfratherthanrelyingonyour

lab. Youshouldmakeyourselffamiliar

withallofthetestsavailablesoyouknow

whattoaskforandwhentoaskforit.You

shouldalsomakeanefforttodevelopa

relationshipwith

someone

at

your

lab

whoyoucancallanddiscussresultswith

andpossiblealternatetesting.

CHALLENGEQUESTION:Doyouknowwhatsamplepackagesyouareusingforeverysinglepieceofequipment

inyourplant? Isyoursamplepackagedesignedspecificallyforthatpieceof

equipmentorareyouusingthesametestoneverypieceofequipment? Doyouknow

whatyoucanexpectfromeachofthesamplepackages?

WeakalarmingmethodologiesHard

alarms

are

pre

set

either

by

the

machineownerorbythelabatthe

requestofthemachineowner.Ifthe

alarmlimit(marginalorcritical)isreached

atanytimeduringthelifeofthemachine,

thenanalarmistriggered.Trendingisone

ofthemostusefultoolsinlubeanalysis.

Therate

of

which

particles

are

generated

inamachine,aswellastherateofchange

oftheparticlesgeneratedareimportant

totrending. Considersettinghardalarms

onwatercountanddemulsibility.


11/17


CheckwithyourlaborASTMstandardsto

seewherethesealarmsshouldbeset.

Thisis

another

reason

that

hardalarmsshouldonlybe

setbyaqualifiedpersonthat

understandsthe

consequencesofusingsuch

analarmingprocedure.

Linearregressionisnormallythesmart

choiceforalarmingparticlecount,wear

metals,contaminantsetc. This

methodologylooksatpasthistoryofthe

equipmentbeingtestedandthen

determineswherethenextwearpoint

shouldbe. Ifthetrendisoffbymorethan

twodatapointsthenanalarmis

triggered. Byusinglinearregression,

abnormalwear

in

the

machine

is

readilyevident. Bycatchingthe

machineatthepropertimeinthe

wearcycle,correctiveactioncan

betaken. Lubechanges,

dehydration,filterchanges,can

beused

to

prolong

the

life

of

the

equipment. Thisiswhatoilanalysisisall

about. Primarily,extendingthelife

expectancyoftheequipment,and

secondarilyextendingthelifeofthe

lubricant. Reducedmaintenancewould

be

the

third

consideration.

ChallengeQuestion:

Whooriginally

set

your

alarms

and

why

are

they

set

where

they

are?

SomanytimesI'veseenseveralpiecesofequipmentsetupinarowincurringthesame

loadandeveryoneofthosepieceswillhaveadifferentpersonality. Somewillhavea

highparticlecountandsomewillhaveahighwatercount. Itisimportanttoknow

yourequipmentandwhyyouarealarmingyourequipmentandwhathappenswhen

theykickin.


12/17


LackoftrainingatplanttointerpretTrainingpersonnelisextremelyvitalto

thesuccess

of

aprogram.

Having

someoneintheorganizationthatcanpick

upareportandinterpretitinthecontext

oftheenvironmentisabsolutelyessential.

Thisisaskillwhichcaneasilybe

developedwithaminimalinvestmentin

trainingand

certification.

LackofanalyticalferrographyAnalyticalferrographyisavaluabletest

fordeterminingseverityofmachinewear

andshouldbepartofanytestpackageon

an

as

needed

basis.

A

trained

analyst

visuallydeterminesthetypeandseverity

ofweardepositedontoasubstrateby

usingahighmagnificationmicroscope.

Theparticlesarereadilyidentifiedand

classifiedaccordingtosize,shape,and

metallurgy.

Thetest

is

expensive

to

run

and

should

notbeconsideredoneverysample,butis

mandatoryanytimeyouseeanabnormal

machinecondition.

CHALLENGEQUESTION:Doyouunderstandhowyoucanhaveacompletelyclearslide,yethaveparticlesinthe

lube? Itcanhappen. Thisisagoodexamplewhyyouneedtounderstandthetests

thatyourunningonyourequipment.

Severwear


13/17


CommunicateWithYourLab'sAnalystsYouneedarelationshipwiththelabanalystsInordertocreateandmaintainaworldclasslube

analysisprogram,youneedtohavethesupportand

dedicationof

your

lab.

You

should

strive

to

develop

a

relationshipwithyourlabanalystandhavethe

confidencethatyoucancalluponthematanytimeto

discussconcernsaboutyourequipmentoroverall

program. Thiscanonlybepossibleifyourlabis

committedtoyouaswell. Youranalystneedstobe

familiarwith

your

equipment,

and

more

importantly,

theyneedtoknowyourgoalsandexpectationsforyour

program.

LipServicesorTrueCommunicationIsyourlabgivingyoulipserviceoraretheyatrue

partner. Whenchoosingalabyoushouldchecktheir

references. Youshouldfindouthowoftenthelabvisits

customersitestoseeifprogramsareontrack. And

beware,somelabsevenchargeyoutospeaktothelab

analyst.

44


14/17


EstablishAdequatePerformanceTrackingDoesyourplantcelebratethespeedat

whichfailureisrepairedorthelackof

failureoccurrences? Thinkaboutthe

purposeofyourmaintenanceprogram.

Isyour

main

objective

putting

out

fires

or

areyoufocusedonpredictivemain

tenance? Manyplantstendtocelebrate

howfastamachineisrepairedand

seldomputemphasisoncelebratingthe

reducedoccurrenceoffailureandthe

increasedlevels

of

machine

availability.

A

truepredictivemaintenanceprogram

shouldbemoreproactivethanreactive.

Yourprogramshouldemphasizeroutine

plannedactivitiesfocusedonmonitoring

andcontrollingrootcauses,whichwill

ultimatelydiminishthefrequencyof

machinefailures.

Manyprogramsfocusonlyonmeasuring

machineconditions

and

completely

miss

theopportunitytomeasurethe

generatedbenefitstheirprogramhas

produced. Trackingsuchthingsas

machineavailability,replacementparts

costs,laborhoursonplannedand

unplannedactivities,

and

lubricant

consumptionarealsoimportant. Inorder

todothisyoushouldidentifybenchmarks

earlyonsoyouhavesomethingtorank

improvementsagainst.

CHALLENGEQUESTIONS:Howareyoutrackingyourperformance? Doyouhaveindicatorsinplacetotrackyour

programandtounderstandhowyourperformanceisranking?Isyourprogram

improvingandhowdoyoustackupwithotherworldclassprograms?

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ProceduresfordocumentingsavingsItiswisetohaveproceduresinplaceto

documentsavings.

This

will

provide

you

withinformationthatcanhelpyouand

yourmanagementteamsetupacost

savingprogram. Ifamilestoneisreached

orifyouarenotifiedofaproblemwhich

savesapieceofequipmentthevalueis

proven.And

dont

forget

to

celebrate

and

rewardthesesuccessesatalllevelsof

yourplant.

MonthlymanagementreportsYourlabshouldprovidemonthlyman

agement

reports

to

help

you

track

your

programsprogress. Agoodexampleisa

samplecompliancereport,whichisa

reportthattellsyouifallofyoursamples

havebeentakenforthemonth. Andif

theywerenottaken,youneedtoknow

why. Possiblyyourequipmentwasdown,

maybemaintenance

is

being

performed,

ortheareasaroundtheequipmentwere

ropedoffandsamplerscouldnotgetto

theequipment. Reportsshouldalsohelp

youunderstandwhysignificantchanges

areoccurringwithyourequipment. How

areyourmarginalsandcriticalsreducing

overtime;why

is

particle

count

starting

to

creepup? Thesetypesofquestionscan

allbeansweredifyouhavereliable

managementtrackingtools.

ProgramreviewmeetingswithlabMost

labs

have

the

ability

to

compare

yourprogramwithotherprograms

throughouttheindustry. Itisavaluable

checksandbalancesprocessthatshould

beofferedbyalllabs,butitgenerallyis

not. Askthatthelabgiveyouaphonecall

orcomeonsiteandsitdownwithyouto

talkto

you

about

your

program.

You

have

therighttoknowhowyourprogramis

doing. Andsometimesyouhavetobethe

oneaskedtherightquestions.

Accurateandprecisereportsarea

vitalcomponent

of

asound

lube

analysisprogram. Reportsandother

managementtoolsshouldbeprovided

byyourlabatnoadditionalcharge.


16/17


GiveYourLeaderAuthoritySometimeslubeanalysisislookedatasa

redheadedstepchild. Thestaffmightnot

knowwhoisleadingtheprogramand

theyprobablyarentclearwhattheirrole

iseither.

In

order

to

combat

this,

you

needthepersoninchargetobealeader

someonewhoisknowledgeable,

experiencedandmotivated. Buteven

withtherightpersoninplacethereare

stillmanyobstaclesthatneedtobe

avoided.

One

of

the

toughest

and

most

widespreadobstaclesisalackof

authority. Manytimespeoplethatare

excitedabout

their

position,

but

they

lack

confidencetotakeactionbecausethey

havenoauthority. Ifyouaretraininga

newpersoninalubeanalysisprogram,be

patientwiththem. Rememberthat

traininggeneratesconfidence. Besureto

invest

in

their

training

so

they

have

the

confidencetomaketherightdecisions,

andempowerthemtotakeaction.

Conclusion:Itmaybetimetolookatyourlubeanalysisprogramtoseeifitislivinguptoyourexpectations. Asyouevaluateyourprogram,takeintoconsiderationthesesix

pitfallswehaveidentifiedasreasonswhyprogramsfail. Yourprogrammaynotbe

sufferingfromallsix,butthepotentialforfailureispossibleifyoudonotmakea

concentratedefforttoensureyourprogramsucceeds. Inthecurrenteconomicclimate

thereislittletoleranceforwaste,andcreatingaworldclasslubeanalysisprogramcould

saveyourcompanyUNTOLDdollars.

66

Ownershipofaprogramwithno

authorityisarecipefordisaster.


17/17


ABOUTTHEAUTHORTimNelsonistheTechnicalServicesManagerforTESTOIL.Hehasmorethan

30yearsexperienceworkinginthe

maintenanceandreliabilitydisciplines.

Muchofhisknowledgeandexperiencewas

gainedwhile

managing

the

lubrication

and

lubeanalysisprogramsforamajor

chemicalplant. Thelubricationprogram,

whichisoneofthelargestintheU.S.,

monitoredmorethan100,000piecesof

rotatingequipment. Thelubeanalysis

programwas

also

significant

as

it

monitorednearly10,000samplesperyear

withapproximately1,000samplepoints.

Aspreviouslymentioned,Timhas

assistedintheimplementationofdozens

ofnewlubeanalysisprogramsinawide

varietyofindustries. Hisbackgroundand

experiencehavemadehimoneofthe

foremostauthorities

in

lube

analysis

and

heisfrequentlycalledupontoevaluate

andmodifyexisting,nonproductive

programs.

Timhasalsodevelopedandtaught

severallubrication

seminars,

published

articlesinvarioustradejournals,andhas

presentedatmajorindustrytradeshows.

Ifyouwouldliketobeginalubeanalysis

programorwouldlikehelptoimprovean

existingone,TESTOILisheretohelp. Our

comprehensiverangeoflubeanalysis

servicesassistsreliabilityengineerswith

conditionmonitoringandidentificationof

machinewear.

Formoreinformation,contactour

customerservicerepresentative.

AngelaRitchie

[email protected]

2162512510

six ways to improve your oil analysis program

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