six ways to improve your oil analysis program
TRANSCRIPT
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Ways To
IMPROVEYour
Oil Anal sis
Tactics To Avoid Failure & Embrace Success
Program
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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.
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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.
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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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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
2162512510