Gaurav Mathur, Director and Chief Executive, Global Technical Services, discusses the importance of an on-site oil testing laboratory within industrial plants for improved safety, extended equipment life and cost effectiveness in the manufacturing sector.

Oil condition monitoring can provide important information about the condition of the machine through oil analysis. Lubricant in any machine is like blood in the human body. Just as a blood test can help a doctor diagnose an illness and inform a treatment plan, similarly an oil analysis can provide an effective way to know the machine condition and inform it to take maintenance decisions.
Once the oil test laboratory is within the plant, the test reports are made available to the machine maintenance team within a timeline of 48 hours. Timely action helps reduce the expensive mechanical maintenance costs and improves machine life and productivity, leading to the plant’s profitability.
Normally, the oil testing laboratories are far away from the plant. They are mostly in a different city, and these laboratories provide test reports after 10 to 15 days. However, those reports are of no use in machine maintenance as mechanical damage starts to set in within 48 hours in any machine. Hence, it is important to have an on-site oil test laboratory within the plant.
Oil condition monitoring, covering moisture (water presence in the oil), particle contamination, wear debris analysis or loss of additives level, etc. are the parameters that clearly bring out any machine’s internal condition. This reporting leads to timely maintenance decisions by the mechanical team. These reports also help improve the reliability of the machine being tested.
Thus, an oil testing laboratory within the plant site is instrumental in greatly improving the value of machine life and reducing a major cost of mechanical maintenance. These improvements and cost reductions in turn lead to cost savings, profitability and enhance efficiency in manufacturing.

OIL ANALYSIS AT SITE LABORATORY
Oil analysis is an important activity used to check oil health, oil contamination, oil cleanliness level, and machine wear. Its main purpose is to verify that a lubricant in the machine is operating with the oil in good condition i.e. the oil is free from any contamination due to continued usage in the machine over a period of time.
An on-site oil testing laboratory helps to form a system for early detection of oil degradation, contamination, and machine wear. Early detection has several benefits that ensure a healthier environment for the employees and the machinery, such as improved safety, early detection and warning of machine degradation, and increased equipment availability and effectiveness.
Once the oil testing laboratory is established within the plant, thereafter, the next step is to prepare department-wise, machine-wise oil testing schedules. These schedules ensure that there is periodic oil testing and subsequent corrective measures can be taken by the mechanical team. This kind of reporting and availability of the
on-site laboratory leads to a more proactive mechanical maintenance.
Almost 82 per cent of wear-related failures are the direct result of particle contamination.
It is a well-known fact that lubricating oils in a machine never dies. Once the contaminants are removed and the oil cleaned to its original level, the oil can be made as good as ‘new’. Hence, a good oil filtration and accurate additives treatment at site assumes considerable importance in ‘oil conservation’ in the industry. By conducting the above activity about 40 per cent to 50 per cent conservation of the lubricant oil can be achieved.
Hence, having a site condition monitoring laboratory not only improves the life of the machines, it also reduces mechanical maintenance costs and can bring a large economic change in the cement manufacturing sector. Besides, oil can also be recycled to its original level. Thus, having an on-site oil testing laboratory is paramount important and profitable for all large industries.