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July - August 2014
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and results. If there are concerns about the quality of the program
or a perception that the program is not fulfilling needs or expecta-
tions, these issues should be discussed and considered as part of
the review. Of course, the program manager should have a solid
grasp of oil analysis interpretation and program management to be
able to coordinate this task effectively.
Updating the Program
Once the objectives have been reviewed, the
next step is to verify that all of the factors
involved are fulfilling their purpose within
the program. These factors include test
slates, sampling frequencies, sample loca-
tions, sampling technologies, procedures
and lab service. The necessary adjustments
should then be made to each of these
elements and supported by appropriate
training of field personnel.
Continuous improvement
An oil analysis program should be flexible
and dynamic in order to provide all the essen-
tial information about your lubricant. You may
need to update the program policies so you
can implement best practices. Use the ques-
tions at the beginning of this article as a guide.
Determine what would be required to achieve
an affirmative answer to all of the questions.
Remember, a world-class program may
have temporary or specific objectives based
on reliability needs, such as assessing filter
quality, investigating a particular root cause
or conducting additional tests to learn more
about a product's performance.
The benefit of staying updated and oper-
ating with more flexibility is that you will
develop a stronger oil analysis program that
can fully support your reliability strategy.
About the Author
Alejandro Meza is a senior technical consultant with Noria Corpora-
tion. He has more than 20 years of experience in the lubricant industry,
technical ser vices, quality assurance, training, consulting and devel-
opment in the United States, Brazil, Mexico and the Americas region.
Contact Alejandro at ameza@noria.com to learn how Noria can help
you update your oil analysis program.
IMPROVEMENT
TIME
OIL ANALYSIS OBJECTIVES
OR PERFORMANCE
RELIABILITY
OBJECTIVES
OR
PERFORMANCE
