of drawing the sample enables maintenance decisions to be completed on the same workorder, thus increasing efficiency. This is exactly why Scott Alther, Fleet Maintenance Manager, City of Boston invested in an MicroLab oil
root cause analysis detects early machine failure and reduces spare parts and overhaul labor. Resolute Mining installed point of care solutions at its remote mining sites in Mali and Madagascar and was quickly able to operate them with local technicians. Brett Fairweather, the Maintenance Superintendent noted, “Having worked in the mining maintenance industry for over 21 years with all the major OEMs and suppliers to the mining industry, my key recommendation to colleagues in the industry is that these solutions achieve superior equipment reliability and the lowest possible Total Cost of Ownership.” “Shipping costs have increased dramatically thisyear. We have seen a sevenfold (7X) increase in cost/kg to transport samples in many regions due to transport system challenges,” notes Sean Cooley, Atomic Oil Laboratories, Kylami, South Africa. “On-site oil analysis solutions make economic sense more than ever before. It pays for itself just on avoiding downtime and resulting cost for parts and lubricants. The just-in-time spare parts business is not cost effective right now.” As uncertainty in transport, parts production and capital budgets are frozen, organizations will look to lower costs while maintaining production availability. Point of care oil analysis makes sense now.
combines them into a simple report. Automated recommendations are available from startup, and they may be changed or added as the team learns more. The ability to share the report across the organization immediately, via cloud or hosted enterprise software, links all reliability stakeholders. “The TruVu 360™ platform is far more intuitive, softening the learning curve. It’s easily customizable, so making it fit into your program doesn’t require hours on the phone.” says Nate Hivner, Carpenter Technologies, Reading PA, USA. A Senior Reliability Engineer at a large food processing plant in the US Midwest justified the investment based on its 600 critical assets. They began testing 1400 “balance of plant” assets. “These are smaller pieces of equipment we can’t filter (sump too small, access problems, etc.) so when we change the oil out we grab a sample and check for any iron that would signal significant wear. We like tools that are easy to operate, quick, with one test sample that signals equipment degradation — all our operators can use them.” Systems that are easy, reliable and repeatable enable even the most occasional user to provide meaningful data to make decisions. Organizations will deal with human resource disruptions — absences, force reductions and loss of contract labor in the near term. Point of care analysis can be performed by anyone.
a possible problem is much easier than working with an off-site supplier. Pertinent information about samples can be verified immediately. Engineers and reliability technicians have access to OEM guides and manuals, and they know the operation intimately. They are in the best position to establish alarms. The Reliability Team at Kennedy Space Center Test Operations and Support (TOSC) “oil pharmacy” noted the data provided greater confidence among system engineers that proper lubricants are in use and gave more precise and accurate monitoring of machine health. “The oil pharmacy
work orders. All of these achievements indicate that management’s anticipation of streamlining machine efficiency, control and reliability was well-placed,” said Sean Hollis, Reliability Engineer. Simmons Feed Missouri (SFI) established a high-performance program. It implemented cautionary and critical alarms on its machines, intelligently and with input from the engineers and operators with the data. SFI now plans 85 percent of its work orders because employees can identify necessary replacement parts before the machines fail.
future purchases or current warranty costs. Problem-solving knowledge from equipment maintainers also can be shared across the enterprise, so people at each site can easily tap into others’ experiences and expertise. Since 2014, PJB/Indonesia Power has taken an enterprise-wide approach by installing MiniLab solutions at their remote power stations across the country. The Equipment Availability Factor, a key metric for the country-wide utility, rose steadily as the power plants became more reliable and began supporting each other. Similarly, a British Columbia-based paper mill has implemented its point of care oil analysis program across multiple sites. If technicians are not available in one facility, freshly drawn samples can be analyzed at other mill sites. All sites use the same equipment and share a common platform, providing seamless backup to avoid equipment disruptions. Organizations will benefit from enterprise-wide point of care solutions to support a company’s reliability efforts as part of their disruption contingency plans. Summary Oil analysis at various plant locations was once reserved for those who could duplicate off-site laboratories. This model has changed in the last few years. The process can be brought on-site with little ancillary equipment or training. Miniature, rugged, portable instruments make this process simple and accurate without the need for solvents and dangerous chemicals. Point of care oil analysis is a proven and viable path forward for organizations looking to reduce risk.About the Author
Daniel Walsh is currently the Director, Technical Sales Support/Commercial Product Strategy for AMETEK Spectro Scientific. Mr. Walsh is responsible for providing global oil analysis solutions for customers in the industrial, fleet and laboratory markets. Daniel has worked at Spectro Scientific in Sales, Application Engineering and Product Leader roles since 2010. Prior to this, he worked at BTS (Bently Nevada, as Technical Director and General Manager of the oil and fuel analysis laboratory. He began his career as a Metallurgical Test Engineer at Pratt & Whitney. He has presented numerous papers at leading industry conferences including Lubmat, EPRI, Noria, STLE and Pittcon, and he has patents in ferrous wear debris detection in industrial fluids. Mr. Walsh has a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Limerick and an MSc in Engineering Management from Tufts University. He also is a STLE Certified Lubrication Specialist.
