IMPROVE

Ways To

Your Oil Analysis Program

Tactics To Avoid Failure & Embrace Success

SuccessfulTakeoff
Thesuccessofanylubeanalysisprogramis oftendependantonproperplanningand execution.Muchlikeanairlineflightwhose crewmustperformadetailedchecklistof activitiesbeforetheplaneisapprovedfor takeoff,alubeanalysisprogramshouldbe designedwithvariouschecksandbalances, standards,procedures,andother verificationstoensureitssuccess. Followingareafewkeyitemstoconsider: PlanningIsVital Planningshouldbeamajorcomponenttothedevelopmentofanylubeanalysis program.Themostsuccessfulprogramsarecarefullydesignedandhaveclearly establishedobjectivesandgoals. TrainYourStaff Itisalsoagoodideatotrainyoursampletakersbecauseeventhebestlaidoutplans canfailiftheyarenotexecutedprecisely. SeekOutProfessionalAssistance Whensettingupalubeanalysisprogram,itwouldbewisetoenlisttheservicesofa professional.Thispersoncanaudityourfacilitytohelpyoudetermineexactlywhat testsyouneedtoperformoneachpieceofequipmentandcreateascheduleforthe frequencythosetestsshouldberun.
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DontBiteOffMoreThanYouCanChew
Manylubeanalysisprogramsarefailures. Maybenottotalfailures,buttheyare almostcertainlynotdeliveringtheresults theycouldbeandshouldbe.Thereare varyingreasonsforthis.Manypeople jumprightintoaprogramandbiteoff morethantheycanchew.Beawarethat ifyoutrytotackletoomuchupfront, failurecouldbetheinevitable consequence.

Also,beawarethatifanewprogram doesn'tshowalmostimmediatecost

savingssomewhere,othersmaylose confidenceandrespectfortheprogram. Oncetheprogramlosesrespect,whether it'sinaplantorsomewhereelseinthe company,itwillbedifficulttoregainit.

DoTheMath Therearemorethan20millionoilsamplescollectedannuallyacrosstheUS,withan averagecostpersampleof$20.(Understandthatthereisahugedifferencebetween industrialsamplesandcommercialsamples,sothisaveragecostpersamplemayvary basedonatestpackage).Thisworksouttobenearly$400millioninannualspending. Assuminga10xreturnoninvestmentthisshouldresultinayieldof$4billionsavingsfor theindustry.Youmayquestionthepossibilityofseeinga10foldROI,butitis achievable.Ipersonallymanagedoneofthelargestreliabilityprogramsintheworld andIcantellyouthatweconsistentlyreturnedmuchmorethana10xreturnyieldona costofbenefitratio.Weconsistentlybeatvibrationanalysis,infrared,motorcurrent, good relationship ultrasonicswithourcostofbenefitreturn.WithasolidprogramandaPage 3www.TESTOIL.com withyourlab,itispossible.

Samplingisthemostimportantpartof anylubeanalysisprogramandthequality ofyoursamplesisvitaltothesuccessof yourprogram.Rememberthatyouget outofaprogramexactlywhatyouput intoit.Haveyouheardthecomputer analogyyougetoutwhatyouputin? Thiscanalsobeappliedtoyourlube analysisprogram.Yourlabcanonlysend youresultsbasedonwhatyousendthem. Thatiswhyitissoimportanttoget consistentsamplesfromtheexactsame placeeverytimeasampleistaken.

EstablishProperSamplingProcedures

Thoughtheimportanceofsamplingis undeniable,itisoftenconsideredthe Achillesheelofmostprograms.Itisthe weakspotandthesamplingmethodsare largelythecause.

Rememberifyoursamplingmethodsare inconsistentthenyouwillmostlikelyhave inconsistentandinaccuratetestresults. Tocombatthis,considerstandardizing yoursamplingmethodandtrainall samplerstoproperlyusethemethodyou choose.

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Tim'sWarStory

"Onetimeacompanyhiredmetotraintheirsamplers.Thecompanyusedthedroptube method to collect their samples so I grabbed a line of tube and began waking around taking samples with a trainee. At the first piece of equipment I cut a line of tube and tookasampleandthenthrewtheusedtubeaway.Thetraineeimmediatelystoppedme andaskedwhyIwasthrowingawaythetube.Iwasshockedtolearnthathewastaught toreusethetube."

Samplestakenfromadroptubeordrainporthaveahighestpotentialofproducing inconsistencyamongsamples.Insituationswheredroptubevacuumsamplingmustbe usedoncirculatingsystems,thebestsamplinglocationisbetweenthereturnlineand thesuctionline,asshownbelow.Thisisknownastheshortcircuit.Inaddition,tubing shouldneverbereused.Tominimizesamplecontaminationanewlineoftubeshould beusedforeachsampletaken.

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Sampling Reservoir

Ifimpropersamplingproceduresarehinderingyourprogram, herearefourwaysyoucanremedytheproblem.

StriveforDedicatedSamplePorts Therearethreebasicwaystotakeasample:fromthedrainport;usinga droptubeandvacuumpump;orfromadedicatedsamplevalve.Thefirst twomethodsarethemostlikelytoproduceacontaminatedsample,anditis fairtosaythatbetweenthemtheyaccountformorethan95%ofsamples extracted.Thebestwaytoensureanaccuratesampleistakenistousea pitottubeoraballvalve.Byusingeitherofthesedevisesyouwillbepulling samplesfromthesameplace,andwithjustalittletraining,itcanbedone exactlythesamewayeverytime,whichincreasestheconsistencyofyour samples.

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TraintheSampleTakers Evenagoodsamplelocationcanprovideabadsample.Thatiswhyitis necessarytotrainyoursampletakers.Samplesshouldbetakenbywell trainedpeoplewhoknowhow,when,whereandwhytotakeasample.

OnsiteLubeAudits Anauditcanhelpyoutodevelopaneffectivelubeanalysisprogram. Generallyanauditorwillinvestigateseveralareasincluding:equipment criticality,pastperformance,safetyhazardsassociatedwithequipment failure,newlubeusageandcurrentpractices.Fromtheretheycanhelpyou focustheeffortsofyourlubetestingprogrambyestablishingsimple objectives.Basedonthoseobjectives,theproperelementsoftheprogram canbeidentifiedtoaccomplisheffectivemaintenancepractices.

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CrossPlantAudit Inadditiontoaprofessionalaudit,consideracrossplantaudit.Bringin yourcounterpartsfromotherplantsitesandletthemaudityourprogram. Bydoingacrossplantaudityoumayfindthatsomeofthepracticesand proceduresthathavebecomenormalatyourplantsitemaynotbecorrect.

CHALLENGEQUESTION: Do you know how much spill protection is required by OSHA in your lube rooms? The answer is, 110% of the largest container you have in the lube room. This is just an example of the kind of informationyoumaynotknow,butoneofyourcolleaguesmight.

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Shipsamplesastheyarecollected Basically,theinformationcontainedin yoursamplebeginstolooseitsvalue almostassoonasthesamplehasbeen taken.Thisiswhyyoushouldship samplesassoonastheyarecollected.If youwaittosendsamplestothelabyou runtheriskofnotcatchingpotential problemsthatcanbedetrimentaltoyour plantsoperations.

AvoidDelaysInReceivingResults
labelingandbyusingappropriatebottling, youcancreateavaluabledatabaseof historyforyourequipment.

Accuratesampleidentificationlabels Labsreceivesamplesfromcustomersin manyinterestingpackages.Someare missinglabelsandsomeareeven submittedinoldwaterbottles.Obviously, thismakesitdifficultforthelabto producetimelyandaccuratetestresults, butthiscanalsoaffecttheintegrityof yourprogram.Mostlabswillsupplyyou withbottlesandlabels.Withproper

Samplenotificationprocess Youshouldexpecttohaveareportin yourhandswithin24to48hoursofyour samplereachingthelaboratory, assumingnospecializedtestingis necessary.Therearedifferentwaysto receiveresults,butthemosteffectiveis viatheInternet.Yourlabshouldprovide youwithonlineaccesstoyourresultsand trackyourmachineshistorythrougha databaseallowingyoutomanageand analyzeit.Thisdatabasecanalsogiving youthedatayouneedtoprovethatyour programiseffective.Afterall,noone knowsyourequipmentbetterthanyou andyoushouldbeabletomanageyour programsittingatyourdesk.

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Trainyourmaintenanceprofessional Tooofteninlubeanalysisthefailureofa programcanbeattributedtothelackof interpretationoftheconditionsreport andaninappropriateresponsetothe results.Whenthishappens,valuable informationislost.Thereasonforthis canlargelybeattributedtothelackof trainingofyourmaintenance professionals.Withoutasolid understandingofthepurposeoflube analysisandtheabilitytointerprettest resultstheycannotbeexpectedtocarry outthisduty.Maintenanceprofessionals shouldreceivetrainingandeducationin

LearnHowToInterpretTestResults
lubeanalysis.Infact,trainingand educationshouldoccuratseveral differentlevelsandwitheveryonewho contributestomachinereliability,from managementallthewaytocraftsmen.

YourLabsResponsibilities Yourlabshouldalsobeadeptat interpretingresults.Manylabsadvertise thattheiranalystshavedegrees,but whenitcomestoanalyzingtestresults experienceinthefieldisparamount. Makesuretheanalystseducationis relevantandnotetheexperienceofthe technicalpeopleinthelabaswell.

ProperTrainingIsVital Trainingcanbeaccomplishedthroughseminarsandtraining classesofferedbyTESTOIL,includingonsitetraining workshopsandwebinarpresentations.

Imnotsurewhatswrongwithyou.Well havetowaitfortheresultsfromtheautopsy. Page9

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 Impropertestpackageselection Testpackagesshouldbedesigned specificallyforeachpieceofequipment. Generally,whenasampleisanalyzedbya laboratory,thebasictestingforeach pieceofequipmentisapplied.However, therearemanymoretestsavailablethat shouldbeconsidered,particularlywhen abnormaloperationisobservedor suspected.

Unfortunately,correcttestselectionis somethingthatyouwilllikelyneedto driveyourselfratherthanrelyingonyour lab.Youshouldmakeyourselffamiliar withallofthetestsavailablesoyouknow whattoaskforandwhentoaskforit.You shouldalsomakeanefforttodevelopa relationshipwithsomeoneatyourlab whoyoucancallanddiscussresultswith andpossiblealternatetesting.

CHALLENGEQUESTION: Doyouknowwhatsamplepackagesyouareusingforeverysinglepieceofequipment inyourplant?Isyoursamplepackagedesignedspecificallyforthatpieceof equipmentorareyouusingthesametestoneverypieceofequipment?Doyouknow whatyoucanexpectfromeachofthesamplepackages? ofthemostusefultoolsinlubeanalysis. Weakalarmingmethodologies Therateofwhichparticlesaregenerated Hardalarmsarepreseteitherbythe inamachine,aswellastherateofchange machineownerorbythelabatthe oftheparticlesgeneratedareimportant requestofthemachineowner.Ifthe alarmlimit(marginalorcritical)isreached totrending.Considersettinghardalarms atanytimeduringthelifeofthemachine, onwatercountanddemulsibility. thenanalarmistriggered.Trendingisone
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 CheckwithyourlaborASTMstandardsto seewherethesealarmsshouldbeset. Thisisanotherreasonthat hardalarmsshouldonlybe setbyaqualifiedpersonthat understandsthe consequencesofusingsuch analarmingprocedure.

Linearregressionisnormallythesmart choiceforalarmingparticlecount,wear metals,contaminantsetc.This methodologylooksatpasthistoryofthe equipmentbeingtestedandthen determineswherethenextwearpoint shouldbe.Ifthetrendisoffbymorethan ChallengeQuestion: Whooriginallysetyouralarmsandwhyaretheysetwheretheyare? SomanytimesI'veseenseveralpiecesofequipmentsetupinarowincurringthesame loadandeveryoneofthosepieceswillhaveadifferentpersonality.Somewillhavea highparticlecountandsomewillhaveahighwatercount.Itisimportanttoknow yourequipmentandwhyyouarealarmingyourequipmentandwhathappenswhen theykickin.
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twodatapointsthenanalarmis triggered.Byusinglinearregression, abnormalwearinthemachineis readilyevident.Bycatchingthe machineatthepropertimeinthe wearcycle,correctiveactioncan betaken.Lubechanges, dehydration,filterchanges,can beusedtoprolongthelifeofthe equipment.Thisiswhatoilanalysisisall about.Primarily,extendingthelife expectancyoftheequipment,and secondarilyextendingthelifeofthe lubricant.Reducedmaintenancewould bethethirdconsideration.

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 Lackoftrainingatplanttointerpret Trainingpersonnelisextremelyvitalto thesuccessofaprogram.Having someoneintheorganizationthatcanpick upareportandinterpretitinthecontext oftheenvironmentisabsolutelyessential. Thisisaskillwhichcaneasilybe developedwithaminimalinvestmentin trainingandcertification. Severwear Lackofanalyticalferrography Analyticalferrographyisavaluabletest classifiedaccordingtosize,shape,and fordeterminingseverityofmachinewear metallurgy. andshouldbepartofanytestpackageon anasneededbasis.Atrainedanalyst Thetestisexpensivetorunandshould visuallydeterminesthetypeandseverity notbeconsideredoneverysample,butis ofweardepositedontoasubstrateby mandatoryanytimeyouseeanabnormal usingahighmagnificationmicroscope. machinecondition. Theparticlesarereadilyidentifiedand CHALLENGEQUESTION: Doyouunderstandhowyoucanhaveacompletelyclearslide,yethaveparticlesinthe lube?Itcanhappen.Thisisagoodexamplewhyyouneedtounderstandthetests thatyourunningonyourequipment.

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CommunicateWithYourLab'sAnalysts
Youneedarelationshipwiththelabanalysts Inordertocreateandmaintainaworldclasslube analysisprogram,youneedtohavethesupportand dedicationofyourlab.Youshouldstrivetodevelopa relationshipwithyourlabanalystandhavethe confidencethatyoucancalluponthematanytimeto discussconcernsaboutyourequipmentoroverall program.Thiscanonlybepossibleifyourlabis committedtoyouaswell.Youranalystneedstobe familiarwithyourequipment,andmoreimportantly, theyneedtoknowyourgoalsandexpectationsforyour program.

LipServicesorTrueCommunication Isyourlabgivingyoulipserviceoraretheyatrue partner.Whenchoosingalabyoushouldchecktheir references.Youshouldfindouthowoftenthelabvisits customersitestoseeifprogramsareontrack.And beware,somelabsevenchargeyoutospeaktothelab analyst.

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Doesyourplantcelebratethespeedat ultimatelydiminishthefrequencyof whichfailureisrepairedorthelackof machinefailures. failureoccurrences?Thinkaboutthe Manyprogramsfocusonlyonmeasuring purposeofyourmaintenanceprogram. machineconditionsandcompletelymiss Isyourmainobjectiveputtingoutfiresor theopportunitytomeasurethe areyoufocusedonpredictivemain generatedbenefitstheirprogramhas tenance?Manyplantstendtocelebrate produced.Trackingsuchthingsas howfastamachineisrepairedand seldomputemphasisoncelebratingthe machineavailability,replacementparts reducedoccurrenceoffailureandthe costs,laborhoursonplannedand increasedlevelsofmachineavailability.A unplannedactivities,andlubricant truepredictivemaintenanceprogram consumptionarealsoimportant.Inorder shouldbemoreproactivethanreactive. todothisyoushouldidentifybenchmarks earlyonsoyouhavesomethingtorank Yourprogramshouldemphasizeroutine improvementsagainst. plannedactivitiesfocusedonmonitoring andcontrollingrootcauses,whichwill CHALLENGEQUESTIONS: Howareyoutrackingyourperformance?Doyouhaveindicatorsinplacetotrackyour programandtounderstandhowyourperformanceisranking?Isyourprogram improvingandhowdoyoustackupwithotherworldclassprograms?
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EstablishAdequatePerformanceTracking

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 Proceduresfordocumentingsavings Itiswisetohaveproceduresinplaceto documentsavings.Thiswillprovideyou withinformationthatcanhelpyouand yourmanagementteamsetupacost savingprogram.Ifamilestoneisreached orifyouarenotifiedofaproblemwhich savesapieceofequipmentthevalueis proven.Anddontforgettocelebrateand rewardthesesuccessesatalllevelsof yourplant. Monthlymanagementreports Yourlabshouldprovidemonthlyman agementreportstohelpyoutrackyour programsprogress.Agoodexampleisa samplecompliancereport,whichisa reportthattellsyouifallofyoursamples havebeentakenforthemonth.Andif theywerenottaken,youneedtoknow why.Possiblyyourequipmentwasdown, maybemaintenanceisbeingperformed, ortheareasaroundtheequipmentwere ropedoffandsamplerscouldnotgetto theequipment.Reportsshouldalsohelp youunderstandwhysignificantchanges areoccurringwithyourequipment.How

Accurateandprecisereportsarea vitalcomponentofasoundlube analysisprogram.Reportsandother managementtoolsshouldbeprovided byyourlabatnoadditionalcharge.

areyourmarginalsandcriticalsreducing overtime;whyisparticlecountstartingto creepup?Thesetypesofquestionscan allbeansweredifyouhavereliable managementtrackingtools. Programreviewmeetingswithlab Mostlabshavetheabilitytocompare yourprogramwithotherprograms throughouttheindustry.Itisavaluable checksandbalancesprocessthatshould beofferedbyalllabs,butitgenerallyis not.Askthatthelabgiveyouaphonecall orcomeonsiteandsitdownwithyouto talktoyouaboutyourprogram.Youhave therighttoknowhowyourprogramis doing.Andsometimesyouhavetobethe oneaskedtherightquestions.

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GiveYourLeaderAuthority

Sometimeslubeanalysisislookedatasa Ownershipofaprogramwithno redheadedstepchild.Thestaffmightnot authorityisarecipefordisaster. knowwhoisleadingtheprogramand theyprobablyarentclearwhattheirrole iseither.Inordertocombatthis,you excitedabouttheirposition,buttheylack needthepersoninchargetobealeader confidencetotakeactionbecausethey havenoauthority.Ifyouaretraininga someonewhoisknowledgeable, newpersoninalubeanalysisprogram,be experiencedandmotivated.Buteven withtherightpersoninplacethereare patientwiththem.Rememberthat stillmanyobstaclesthatneedtobe traininggeneratesconfidence.Besureto avoided.Oneofthetoughestandmost investintheirtrainingsotheyhavethe widespreadobstaclesisalackof confidencetomaketherightdecisions, authority.Manytimespeoplethatare andempowerthemtotakeaction. Conclusion:Itmaybetimetolookatyourlubeanalysisprogramtoseeifitislivingup toyourexpectations.Asyouevaluateyourprogram,takeintoconsiderationthesesix pitfallswehaveidentifiedasreasonswhyprogramsfail.Yourprogrammaynotbe sufferingfromallsix,butthepotentialforfailureispossibleifyoudonotmakea concentratedefforttoensureyourprogramsucceeds.Inthecurrenteconomicclimate thereislittletoleranceforwaste,andcreatingaworldclasslubeanalysisprogramcould saveyourcompanyUNTOLDdollars.
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ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
TimNelsonistheTechnicalServices ManagerforTESTOIL.Hehasmorethan 30yearsexperienceworkinginthe maintenanceandreliabilitydisciplines. Muchofhisknowledgeandexperiencewas gainedwhilemanagingthelubricationand lubeanalysisprogramsforamajor chemicalplant.Thelubricationprogram, whichisoneofthelargestintheU.S., monitoredmorethan100,000piecesof rotatingequipment.Thelubeanalysis programwasalsosignificantasit monitorednearly10,000samplesperyear withapproximately1,000samplepoints. Ifyouwouldliketobeginalubeanalysis programorwouldlikehelptoimprovean existingone,TESTOILisheretohelp.Our comprehensiverangeoflubeanalysis servicesassistsreliabilityengineerswith conditionmonitoringandidentificationof machinewear.
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Aspreviouslymentioned,Timhas assistedintheimplementationofdozens ofnewlubeanalysisprogramsinawide varietyofindustries.Hisbackgroundand experiencehavemadehimoneofthe foremostauthoritiesinlubeanalysisand heisfrequentlycalledupontoevaluate andmodifyexisting,nonproductive programs.

Timhasalsodevelopedandtaught severallubricationseminars,published articlesinvarioustradejournals,andhas presentedatmajorindustrytradeshows.

Formoreinformation,contactour customerservicerepresentative. AngelaRitchie aritchie@testoil.com 2162512510 www.TESTOIL.com