Stay Up-To-Date on HORIZON® Features

What’s New

At POLARIS Laboratories®, we strive to continue to provide our customers with advancements and improvements to our data management platforms – to make it easier to manage data. In the past few months, we’ve released a number of updates to the HORIZON® data management website, mobile application and our DataConnect integration feature.

HORIZON Updates

  • Users are now able to transfer components from different accounts in the HORIZON mobile app
  • Starting on April 1, there will be a minimum version requirement for the mobile app
    • To avoid difficulties with using the app, please update to the latest version

DataConnect Updates

To further integrate automation with asset management and maintenance systems, an update to our our DataConnect service will soon include the ability to add, update, and transfer your equipment data. This update is currently in testing and expected to be released soon. If you are interested in learning more about this feature, please contact us.

 

Download or update your HORIZON app below:

     

 

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

Published March 26, 2019

Protect Your Investment, Protect Your Grease

Grease: a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

Most lubrication fundamentals are fairly well understood in this day and age. There are plenty of websites with documentation on topics ranging through a variety of lubricating systems and analysis. There are even a lot of manufacturers, laboratories and literature on the key points and fundamentals of the variety of other fluids used today, such as fuels, solvents and even coolants.

However, one area that is still shrouded in mystery to most: Grease.

Grease: A History

A semi-solid lubricant, grease generally it consists of a soap, emulsified with an oil, (though clays are used in place of the soap in some extreme temperature applications). Some of the first recorded applications were used by the Egyptians and the Romans, thousands of years ago, though modern greases really came about during World War II.

Manufacturing Complications

In the recent years, the manufacture of greases has been described as an art. The processes is very complicated and requires:

  • High temperatures and pressures
  • Oil charges added at specific times and flow
  • Accurate application – if not, the grease will fail and turn into slop

The tests designed to qualify the greases from the production environment were designed many decades ago and mainly designed to ensure quality during manufacturing. They were not designed to qualify greases, in the most part, for use in the field.

Grease Formulations

To make matters more complicated, most literature from OEM’s specify a NLGI grade, a soap type and if you are really lucky, a base oil viscosity requirement. Grease manufacturers have made a huge number of formulations and in many cases, these three parameters may be identical, yet the actual formulations could be significantly different and in fact incompatible with each other. Not all greases are compatible. Even greases of the same soap composition may be incompatible with each other, resulting in a complete loss of lubrication in the component.

Grease Sampling

The next issue is related to sampling. The process of lubrication utilized in a greased system is different compared to a similar oil-lubricated system. Grease is designed to release the lubricating oil charge with the soap holding it into the area where the lubrication is required. As a result, the grease in the compartment will most likely be extremely non-homogeneous. If the grease is sampled from the outer surface or from the corners of the system may not been representative of the grease next to the area being lubricated. Taking a representative sample that will provide a valuable maintenance recommendation is a really challenging activity. There are some excellent resources available to combat this issue, I suggest reading the ASTM D7718 Practice for Obtaining In-Service Samples of Lubricating Grease.

Grease Testing

The final step of conventional condition monitoring and equipment maintenance is normally testing of the fluid. As noted above, a number of conventional grease tests, are designed to qualify grease manufacture. These tests, such as penetration and dropping point, may not give any significant information for reliability purposes. This may seem of great concern to most, but in-service grease testing is an area where most current research is focuses on.

Why Test Your Grease?

Grease is rather complicated compared to conventional lubricating system’s condition monitoring systems. You might ask, why bother? Really, it comes down to cost. Grease is generally more expensive than the equivalent lubricant, sometimes by a factor of 10 or more. In addition, a large number of grease systems are designed to last a much longer periods between re-greasing compared to some conventional oil lubrication systems. As a result there is a real financial gain to be found from obtaining effective maintenance reliability recommendations.

POLARIS Laboratories® will be adding grease to our fluid analysis capabilities in the coming months. Stay tuned!

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

Published March 21, 2019

Harsh Environments Halting Production?

Harsh operating conditions, extreme load variations and the high-dollar costs involved in downtime and equipment replacement make fluid analysis a necessary part of doing business in the mining industry. Routine testing identifies small problems before they become major failures allowing you to meet the high demands of your customers on time and on budget.

The heavy-duty equipment required by mining applications is often exposed to extreme, uncontrollable environmental factors for long periods of time, yet is still expected to maintain maximum performance levels. Contamination and wear are imminent and when left unchecked, can halt production in a heartbeat.

Condition Monitoring

Monitoring the condition of both the fluid and the unit through analysis identifies wear-causing contaminants and their effect on component performance. Monitoring the condition of coolant along with engine oil creates a clearer picture of what’s occurring in the engine. Sampling frequency should be based on the unit’s criticality to production, as well as the costs involved in replacement or repair.

  • Is Your Diesel Engine Protected?
    • Routinely monitoring a diesel engine oil’s viscosity, as well as its ability to neutralize acids and disperse and suspend soot particles produced during combustion, can indicate if anti-wear additive and dispersant/detergent levels are providing sufficient engine protection.
  • What’s Wearing on Your Gear Systems/Wheel Motors?
    • Although contamination by dirt and water should be closely monitored in manual/auto transmissions, electric wheel motor bearings, differentials, final drives and planetaries, the biggest concern for these systems is the type of wear occurring.
  • Is Your Hydraulic System Adequate?
    • Hydraulic systems, including automatic powershift transmissions, require the fluid’s viscosity to be low enough to minimize friction loss, yet high enough to prevent fluid leakage and provide satisfactory protection against wear. It should have good oxidation stability to prevent sludge from forming, sufficient water separability and air release properties and resistance to foaming.

Learn how you can reduce the risks of unexpected failure by better protecting your equipment:

Maximize asset reliability and regain control of your production schedules with an effective fluid analysis program and partnership with POLARIS Laboratories®.

It costs so little to protect so much.

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

Published March 12, 2019

Keeping the Coast Clear from Safety Issues

Nothing derails your equipment reliability more than a critical failure or accident whilst in operation. Performing maintenance is a perilous activity, and lack of inadequate processes can also lead to dangerous situations for engineers to work in. Adding maintenance to an already high-risk operation can lead to serious safety issues for your team.

Marine Operational Safety

Failure or unplanned maintenance in the marine industry puts the vessel and crew members at a greater risk. Quickly addressing unplanned problems usually means tasks being rushed and compliant procedures not being followed, in order to complete the task as soon as possible – and to get back on track. One of the largest causes of maintenance-related accidents in the marine industry is unidentified equipment failures – and the required maintenance to fix the issue. So, how can you keep the coast clear from safety issues for your team and identify these failures before they happen? Using lubrication analysis as a reliability tool and taking action on the maintenance recommendations provided on the report can:

  • Resolve unplanned, rushed maintenance
  • Improve equipment reliability
  • Provide a safer operating environment

Go Beyond Your Report

We see many companies utilize oil analysis as part of their condition monitoring program, but not efficiently act on the results and recommendations we provide on the report. Simply reacting to sample reports that show critical results does not improve reliability – because the problem has already occurred.

Vessel operators and fleet managers should look beyond the standard sample report and utilize all of the Data Management Reports and Statistical KPI’s available in HORIZON®. Using the management reports provides an overview of all of the sample data and recommendations provided by the laboratory to be analyzed, allowing operators to plan accordingly, perform maintenance at a safe, suitable time, improved vessel performance and reliability, and ultimately, reduce risk of accidents.

Want to learn more about our solutions for the marine industry? Download our solution sheet:

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

Published March 5, 2019