Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/680544
hen you go in for a blood test, do you want to be told what your red and white blood counts are, what your platelet or hemoglobin levels are, or what the mean corpuscular volume is? Unless you're a medical doctor, probably not. You rely on a reputable doctor to analyze the blood count report and tell you if you're healthy. If he spots concerns, does he say, "You're unhealthy," and that's it? No. You expect him to act with urgency to figure out why you're not healthy and what can be done to make you better. You expect him to ask a battery of questions to help pinpoint the root causes and explain the problem at hand. That's why we have doctors and not just blood counts or healthy/unhealthy alarm limits. We need a true diagnostic methodology to help us stay healthy. Just like blood analysis, oil analysis is undoubtedly complicated. First, someone is tasked with ensuring samples are collected in just the right way to minimize human interference in the results. This requires training. Then, laboratory technicians are rushed to process the sample through a gambit of instruments. They must use precise and consistent methods to avoid the potential interference from such things as previously run samples or variations in sample agitation technique. This calls for a lot of training. Once the lab tests are completed, the job isn't finished. You should expect a skilled diagnostician (just like a doctor) to analyze the results, uncover the clues behind the raw data and produce clear recommendations to address any concerns. This last step is prob - ably the most important reason why oil analysis is performed. It also is arguably the most difficult and often the most overlooked part of it all. This article will offer selection principles necessary to ensure your oil analysis laboratory is giving you what you need to keep your machines healthy. The End Goal of Oil Analysis When several end users were asked about the ultimate goal of oil analysis, the most common responses included determining if or when machines were going to fail, detecting incipient machine fail- ures earlier, knowing when to perform an oil change on time, understanding contamination levels and optimizing machine reli- ability at the lowest possible cost. While the actual responses varied, a unified answer to the question can be surmised. That is, the end goal of oil analysis is to aid in the optimization of plant-wide reliability by proactively monitoring various indicators within the oil of individual machines. This should be what motivates each plant to design its 40 | May - June 2016 | www.machinerylubrication.com O i l A n a l y s i s Benne t t Fi t ch | Nori a Corpor at ioN LESSONS IN LUBRICATION Selecting the RIGHT OIL ANALYSIS LAB W A laboratory should share your end goal of aiding in the optimization of plant-wide reliability by proactively monitoring various indicators within the oil of individual machines.