Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/520842
Companion Technology Training and Certification Effective condition-monitoring programs deploy many tools and skills. Lubricant analysts who are multilingual can discuss and compare notes with vibration analysts, infrared folks and other stakeholders/specialists in machine reliability. Training and certifi ca- tion are available in all of these fi elds. The lube analyst should start with introductory courses in each technology area. Lead a World-class Oil Analysis Program If you work in a plant, don't just perform oil analysis. Instead, take the lead in transforming your program to a world-class level. How cool would it be to state on your résumé that you led a world- class program? Write Your Plant's Lubricant Analysis Manual Writing a corporate or plant-level oil analysis manual or guide speaks volumes about your knowledge and commitment to the subject. Include detailed procedures in the manual covering every- thing from oil sampling to remediation practices. Develop and Deliver Training Workshops Plant training on oil analysis topics helps to build awareness and garner support from key personnel. Demonstrate that you are the go-to person on all related subjects. Get Published Assemble what you've learned into an article or paper and submit it for publication. Noria is always seeking good case studies and success stories from the user community. Win the Gill Award If you think your program approaches world class, then get the recognition it deserves. ICML presents the Augustus H. Gill Award to organizations that achieve excellence in oil analysis. Become a Subject-matter Expert True experts in in-service lubricant analysis are few and far between. Find a subject niche in which you are interested and study everything you can about it. Publish articles on the subject, write a book, present papers at conferences like Reliable Plant, and participate in ASTM and ISO standards meetings. How a Killer Lube Analyst Résumé Can Help Your Career Among other things, your professional qualifi cations defi ne essential knowhow and reveal your ability to take initiative. Anyone who can build a world-class oil analysis program can easily do it a second or third time. This could be at other plants within your company or with other employers altogether. As Thomas Edison once said, "Knowledge without application means nothing." Your résumé needs to show that you are a "knowing" person as well as a "doing" person. If you achieve both, the career opportunities will beat a path to your door. About the Author Jim Fitch has a wealth of "in the trenches" experience in lubrication, oil analysis, tribology and machinery failure investigations. Over the past two decades, he has presented hundreds of courses on these subjects. Jim has published more than 200 technical articles, papers and publica- tions. He ser ves as a U.S. delegate to the ISO tribology and oil analysis working group. Since 2002, he has been director and board member of the International Council for Machinery Lubrication. He is the CEO and a co-founder of Noria Corporation. Contact Jim at jfi tch@noria.com. 4 | May- June 2015 | www.machinerylubrication.com AS I SEE IT Who is a Lubricant Analyst? A lube analyst is a condition-monitoring professional. This person is literate in the language of oil analysis and knows how to routinely extract critical reliability infor- mation from in-service lubricants. The information he or she seeks relates to the transient health of the machine, the oil and the contaminants therein. The lubricant analyst interfaces with others in the lubrication trade as well as analysts in vibration, thermography, acoustics, etc. Many lube analysts work in onsite oil analysis labs, while others simply manage the process of sampling, lab selection, test-slate design, alarms/limits and data interpretation. All lubricant analysts have a fundamental knowledge of machines, lubricants, lubrication and the fi eld of reliability.