Interested in getting started with oil analysis? There will never be a better time than now. TestOil’s oil analysis experts routinely save industrial customers both time and money with evidence-based advice on when and when not to change the oil at their plants. An example is a recent situation with Test Oil TestOil PRO team member and Oil Analysis Consultant Micheal Shaw.
Shaw was touching base with a steel mill customer regarding safety training in order to prepare him for upcoming site visits to pull oil samples. When Shaw called, the customer happened to be in the middle of a conversation with one of his maintenance technicians.
The customer said he needed to put Shaw on a quick hold. As Shaw waited, he overheard the customer troubleshooting a machine with the maintenance technician, who said, "I can just change the oil on the machine or pull the dipstick and if it looks bad just change the oil."
The customer told the technician that he happened to have TestOil on the phone—telling Shaw that he called at just the right time. The customer then asked Shaw if he had access to the oil analysis reports from the previous month. Shaw affirmed that he did and asked what the customer wanted him to check.
Shaw explained, “He said they were doing general maintenance work around the plant at that time and they were just about to change the lubricant on a machine they were troubleshooting. It just so happened that I had recently pulled an oil sample from that machine and had data.” Shaw informed the customer that the lubricant condition was within acceptable limits and there was no need to perform an oil change at that time.
This is just one example of how TestOil always puts the customer first.
One of the many ROI benefits of professional industrial oil analysis is the money it saves on unnecessary oil changes in terms of oil, labor and a myriad of hidden costs that are often not taken into account. The costs associated with an oil change include:
• Downtime: If the oil is being changed, the equipment is unavailable, not just during the change, but from the time it is isolated until the time it is actually back in service. Even when a machine isn’t shut down for an oil change, the bleeding and feeding process increases oil and labor costs.
• Inadvertent damage to the machine: Possibilities include adding the wrong oil, over/under-filling, damaging a drain plug, accidentally restarting the equipment without oil, introducing contaminated oil, etc.
• The true cost of labor: With standard benefits added in, experts figure the true cost of labor is roughly 1.5 times the gross pay.
• New Oil: The cost of new oil, whether mineral or synthetic continues to go up; with some fire-resistant synthetic fluids costing close to $30/gallon.
• Safety: Changing oil involves a number of potential safety hazards, including slipping, burns and back injury.
• New Oil Testing: New oil may need to be analyzed to verify that the correct oil was supplied and to establish a baseline for subsequent testing.
“Lab testing allows our customers to make oil change decisions based on data,” Shaw said. “In addition, our training options will provide maintenance staff with the knowledge they need to change the oil in the safest, most effective way possible.”
With more than 30 years of experience in the oil analysis industry, TestOil focuses exclusively on assisting industrial facilities with reducing maintenance costs and avoiding unexpected downtime through oil analysis program implementation. As industry experts in diagnosing oil-related issues in equipment such as turbines, hydraulics, gearboxes, pumps, compressors and diesel generators, TestOil provides customers with a guarantee of same-day turnaround on all routine testing. With in-house, certified training professionals, TestOil offers lubrication and oil analysis training, private onsite training, certification training and exams, and educational webinars. For more information on partnering with TestOil on oil analysis programs or training opportunities visit https://testoil.com. Contact: 216-251-2510; sales@testoil.com.
