Oil analysis – a 350% return on investment
You may have been unfortunate enough to experience one or two machine breakdowns over the years. But did you know that the villain of the piece is often poor filtration and contaminated oil? In fact this is true in 80% of all machine breakdowns. The breakdowns can be avoided, and the solution is actually quite simple – regular oil analyses.
Checking your oil makes sound financial sense. That’s because research shows that for every euro invested in oil analysis, you save 4.5 euro elsewhere. Checking the oil can lead to fewer breakdowns, or in the best cases none at all. Oil analyses also make it easier to plan regular maintenance and optimise drain intervals.
SIGHTS SET ON PROFITABILITY
Do you want to increase efficiency, productivity and – consequently – profitability? Then oil analyses can help. An oil analysis also gives you a better idea of how the mechanical system is working generally, for instance whether there is any abnormal wear and abrasion. This enables you to foresee and even completely avoid future breakdowns.
An oil analysis reveals, for example, whether there are any impurities in the form of particles or water. In a fully functioning system, neither should be present in the oil. An analysis can help show where you should start to look for a fault, and how it can best be remedied.
PLANNED MAINTENANCE
So a laboratory test gives you a good idea of how the oil is doing. But it’s important that the test is done correctly. For the results to reflect a fair picture, the oil level and temperature in the system must be normal, for example. It is equally important that the sample is taken from a circulating system, or immediately after the system is switched off. Once these three factors are in place a good analysis can be conducted, and the results can be compared over time.
A final tip is to spend enough time interpreting the results. A good analysis will provide you with facts and insights that it’s well worth pondering and drawing conclusions from. As already mentioned: for every euro invested in oil analysis, you could save 4.5 euro elsewhere!
So in summary, oil analyses lead to a more reliable, predictable lubrication system. Consequently, you can focus on planned maintenance. In other words you can avoid breakdowns, enjoy longer oil drain intervals, higher machine efficiency, reduced downtime and ultimately better profitability.
Niels Højer
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Smart Lubrication
Smart Lubrication is a blog from FUCHS where we share our common knowledge about lubricants and lubrication.