Machinery Lubrication India Jan Feb 14 10 | Page 5

MLI

OIL ANALYSIS
HENNING, SPECTRO INC., RAY GARVEY,
EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT

Benefits of
Analysis

The
Route-Based Oil
Personnel who carry out machinery
health inspections at industrial plants
today generally follow pre-defined
inspection routes. This “walking-thebeat” approach has proven to be
effective for analysis of vibration and
infrared thermography because the

route-based oil analysis in order to
determine
lubricant
properties
quantitatively. It just was not possible
previously to perform this type of
analysis at each point along the route
within a minute (or two at the most).
Now, with the development of certain
handheld tools such as the FluidScan
Q1100, it is feasible to obtain critical,
quantitative oil parameters within a
short time right at the sampling point
(see Figure 1). As a result, it is possible
to envision a route-based oil analysis
protocol.
Route-based oil analysis is a big step
beyond
visual
inspections
by
maintenance personnel as they go
through a plant along a pre-determined
route to perform greasing or topping-off
of lubrication systems.

Figure 1. Route-based
oil sampling

information derived from on-the-spot,
real-time

inspections

and

data

collection is extremely useful. These
inspections are also economical in
many

situations

where

having

permanently installed equipment on
each asset would be too costly.
Until now, these pre-defined machinery
health inspections have not included

Of course, technicians should still
observe the machinery visually while
walking a route, but on-the-spot oil
analysis can be done very quickly with
good accuracy and with repeatable
results. Walk-around analysis provides
immediate feedback and the ability to
retest right in the field if needed. In
many cases, it is not even necessary to
use a sample bottle. Route-based oil
analysis adds even greater value because
the information provided from a
structured database is always correct

and consistent. No time is wasted, and
no human error is incurred, since the
route automatically associates reference
information with each designated
sample point.
By consistently identifying the correct
reference oil and asset sample point
with a test, the walk-around infrared
spectrometer operator can achieve far
better repeatability and accuracy than
can typically be achieved in a
commercial
laboratory.
Many
commercial labs do not have the ability
to consistently identify the exact
lubricant
and
other
pertinent
information related to each test sample.

Figure 2. Visual observations collected
and assigned to samples on a route

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