Elevate Your Fluid Analysis Program and Save More Equipment

Four years ago, several of my colleagues presented a proposal that could simply be billed “if you build it, they will come”. This proposal involved building a groundbreaking, customer-focused event hosted by an independent fluid analysis laboratory. What started as a cautious experiment in 2015 to educate and train our customers on the strategic value of an effective fluid analysis program has grown into a mainstay that brings together more and more customers each and every year. It’s our Customer Summit.

In past years, we’ve focused on issues that matter most to maintenance professionals and fluid analysis leaders. Driving Action. Champion Impact. Connected Performance. Now in 2018, we bring you a summit that focuses on Elevate. Our fourth annual Customer Summit is set for November 5-7, 2018, at the Alexander Hotel in downtown Indianapolis.

Elevate will help our customers sharpen their focus and take their fluid analysis program to the next level. With a dynamic and diverse speaker lineup in the works, we are committed to helping you close the gap and build a fluid analysis strategy for the future.  We’ve structured this summit to be for maintenance professionals by maintenance professionals. We simply provide a platform for key players at companies like yours to learn through peer-to-peer conversations. In turn, our customers leave with a better understanding about what needs to be improved, accelerated and leveraged the most in their programs. You can’t afford not to engage in these conversations – so we encourage you to come experience it first-hand at the 2018 Customer Summit this November.Building on past feedback from nearly 200 customers across more than 90 companies, the 2018 summit will provide greater variety and depth in the content we share. This is a must-attend for new and returning customers. Specific content will include new insights on:

  • Expanding and maximizing your program
  • Securing greater executive support
  • Importance of proven impact, uptime and savings
  • Contamination control
  • Business impact initiatives to improve fluid analysis
  • Innovative technological solutions to maximize your program
  • Optional lab tours before and after the summit schedule

Mixing work with some memorable fun and networking is how we do it. What’s more, we do it in a way that is affordable for multiple members of your team to attend.

Are you ready to take the next step elevate your fluid analysis program? Then clear your calendar in November and join us in Indianapolis at the 2018 POLARIS Laboratories® Customer Summit. We’ll circulate more details when registration opens in late April! Click here to be notified when the 2018 summit registration process opens.

Proven Impact. Proven Uptime. Proven Savings.
Let us prove it to you.

Published March 27, 2018

Take Five and Submit Your Sample

In the maintenance field, timing is everything. Often times, it can be the deciding factor whether or not equipment or machinery breaks down, causing jobs to be pushed back to later dates, effecting other business. What if you could eliminate fluid sample submission from being the cause of delays? POLARIS Laboratories® offers a convenient online sample submission option – which not only saves time, but results faster sample turnaround times, eliminates unnecessary timely delays and increases equipment uptime. So, why should you start submitting samples online?

Five Minutes

On average, it only takes five minutes to submit your fluid analysis sample online via HORIZON®. Rather than filling out the paperwork by hand and sending in the sample to one of our laboratories, online sample submission requires less fields – saving you time. Additionally, submitting your sample data via your HORIZON account – where all your data from previous samples is stored – allows for automatic calculations. All you have to do is scan a barcode, enter a few fields of sample information, click submit and it’s logged in our system. Then, ship the sample with the same barcode to our laboratory and the sample is processed and queued for testing, eliminating the need for our sample processing team to enter the sample information manually.

Reduce Errors

One of the most common causes of samples being placed on hold or tested inaccurately (resulting in a re-test) at our laboratory is paperwork issues. Whether it’s handwriting errors or oil spilled on the paperwork causing readability issues, filling out the sample submission form by hand can cause many issues. As a result, these can cause the sample information to be processed and input into our system incorrectly and result in assignment to the wrong component.

Faster Results

Submitting samples online not only saves you, the customer, time but it accelerates the internal process for our team as well. We’ll recieve your sample information instantly, which results in faster processing time, less samples on hold and less tests being re-run which all mean a faster turnaround time and reduced downtime for you.

Sample Submission on the Go

Online sample submission goes hand-in-hand with our mobile HORIZON application, available for both Apple and Android mobile devices. Download the HORIZON mobile app to your smart phone or tablet and submit your sample information online, as soon as the the sample is taken. Customize your push notifications and receive alerts when specific fluid type samples arrive at our laboratory and check in on the status of your sample. It’s one less task you have to do later, helping you stay on schedule.

For more information, click here to see our detailed step-by-step instructions for submitting samples online.

Proven Impact. Proven Uptime. Proven Savings.
Let us prove it to you.

Published March 13, 2018

One Lab, Multiple Locations

POLARIS Laboratories® constantly strives to meet our customers needs and expectations. Due to a high number of North American customers with locations throughout Europe, and with increasing shipping costs, in 2013 we decided to establish a laboratory facility in Europe to meet our customers needs on a global scale. This meant reduced shipping costs and much shorter turnaround time for samples for customers.

As a laboratory with locations worldwide, we operate on the idea of “one lab, multiple locations”, meaning our customers can be confident their samples will go through the same processing, testing and analysis, no matter what laboratory location their sample is sent to. But, achieving this idea within our international laboratories does come with its challenges. Even though all our laboratories operate under the same quality and laboratory standards, there are many differences within the labs:

Time difference

  • By having a laboratory in Europe – we moved to the same time zone as our global customers (instead of being 5-6 hours behind). This has helped us establish timely customer service and order and sample processing, resulting in the customer receiving assistance and orders faster – and cheaper.

Test methods

  • After some time, we also have realized expectations of our European customers may be different from what we, as a company, were accustomed to while operating only in North America. For example – one of the tests required by Natural and Biogas Engine OEMs in Europe is Base Number according to ASTM D2896 (to read more about ASTM D2896, read Battle of the Base Number Testing: D2896 vs. D4739) To meet our customers’ needs and expectations – we introduced this test in our Poznan, Poland laboratory location, in 2015. This test method is largely conducted for gas engine oil samples but also occasionally for diesel engine oils and research purposes for testing oil/fuel additives.

Sample volume by industry

  • When we break the sample volume per laboratory location into various industries – we’ve found European samples come mainly from industrial applications. 40 percent of the samples processed in our Poznan, Poland laboratory are from the industrial industry. Due to a large quantity of samples sent to the Poznan laboratory which require Membrane Patch Colorimetry (MPC), a test performed on industrial equipment – currently only being conducted at our Indianapolis laboratory – we are adding MCP to testing capabilities in our Poznan laboratory.

Reporting the numbers

  • It’s safe to say not many people on this side of “the pond” would be able to easily tell a gallon from a quart, or an inch from a foot – but no matter what type of units of measure we use – it is important to provide this information with the sample.
  • Operating time is one of the most important pieces of information in fluid analysis. Whether it is reported in miles, kilometers or hours – it is vital for determining severity of contamination or wear and if any maintenance actions need to be taken. Read more in The Importance of Lubricant Time for Proper Oil Analysis.

Whether your samples are sent to our laboratory in Poznan, Guatemala or Salt Lake City, as a global fluid analysis provider, we continue to operate as one laboratory. From processing your sample, to conducting the testing in the laboratory to delivering results and maintenance recommendations, our customers can count on receiving the same quality standard of services from all laboratories. At POLARIS Laboratories®, we offer not only state-of-the-art testing and analysis, but a partnership with our customers and strive to provide innovative solutions and improvements to meet their needs at every step of the fluid analysis journey.

Proven Impact. Proven Uptime. Proven Savings.
Let us prove it to you.

Published March 6, 2018