Oil Analysis - A Proven Industry Standard Maintenance Tool

Used oil analysis has existed as long as lubricants have been around. In the 1940s, the railroad industry began to analyze their lubricants for their various metals found in specific components of the engine. By tracking wear rates and trends from one sample to the next, maintenance could be anticipated and scheduled before component failure resulted in downtime and the loss of equipment productivity. This data allowed railroads to schedule teardowns when they were necessary, rather than after an arbitrary number of operating hours. The advent of spectrometric metals analysis gave rise to the practice of "predictive maintenance" which continues to be more cost effective than the standard of preventive maintenance. The oil analysis process consists of (1) lubricant sampling, (2) laboratory analysis and (3) interpretation of the results to determine the condition of the fluid and the machinery from which the sample was taken.

Who is Using Oil Analysis?

An oil analysis program can provide critical information for any equipment requiring lubricants - both gasoline and diesel engines, transmissions, gears, bearings, and hydraulic systems. It's useful for owners of passenger cars, over-the-road fleets, off-highway equipment, boats, or high performance vehicles. It's also right for any industrial business that focuses on managing plant equipment and maintenance costs. As a matter of fact, as many as 70 percent of today's construction equipment operators use professional oil analysis to assess equipment and lubricant condition. Forty percent of all transportation fleets and 20 percent of industrial plants also rely on lube testing as an integral part of predictive/preventative maintenance. These businesses know that oil analysis replaces the guesswork in predicting equipment wear and scheduling optimum drain intervals. The data provided by oil analysis enables them to maximize equipment profitability by minimizing maintenance downtime.

The Oil Analysis Program from Oil Analyzers, Inc.

Make the decision to use Oil Analyzers, Inc. (OAI) to test the lubricants in your equipment or fleet and you'll be partnering with the most advanced computerized testing laboratory today's technology has to offer. Simply collect your samples using our sampling kits and mail them in our pre-addressed packages to our lab. Our technical team will do the rest. They combine their years of analytical experience with state-of-the-art instrumentation to produce reliable, meaningful results from your samples.

Testing is typically completed by the end of the business day following receipt of your sample. Results are reported by fax, mail, or in the case of an impending equipment failure, by telephone. Reports are easy-to-read and include interpretation and recommendations. And because the tests performed on your samples are tailored to your machinery, you'll get data that applies directly to your equipment and maintenance decisions.

Our technicians are available to answer your questions ranging from sampling procedures to the test results and maintenance recommendations. Also, your reports are kept on file at the lab to enable monitoring of trends and detection of subtle changes in the condition of your equipment.