A Connected World: Fluid Analysis is No Exception

We live in a connected world. Our daily lives involve hundreds of interactions with data and technology so why should your fluid analysis program be any different? How you submit samples, receive results, manage test data and take action on maintenance recommendations will determine your program’s ROI. In turn, this affects the uptime and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the equipment you operate.

We are all going through a technological revolution, so it is more important than ever to understand how our devices and The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can be integral to your fluid analysis program.

One System: Smarter Actions

From a maintenance management perspective, viewing oil analysis results from an individual machine on the same screen as its vibration readings and data from sensors allows the engineer to react quicker to the recommendations, assess the bigger picture and understand that one set of results confirms another. This creates huge efficiencies and results in smarter, more accurate maintenance actions being performed. In turn, it leads to improved uptime, an increase in ROI returns and a reduction in the Total Cost of Ownership of the equipment being monitored.

A Solution

POLARIS Laboratories® has joined the technology revolution and is helping you get there, too. With our integration feature, DataConnect, internal data systems communicate and transfer your sample data and results back and forth on an hourly basis from HORIZON® so your own CMMS or SAP system is accurate, up-to-date and in the correct format at all times.

Part of a Routine

Most CMMS or maintenance management programs are utilized at point of application during daily plant walk-rounds, in sample taking or planned maintenance actions. This means there is a growing requirement to integrate the sample taking procedure into your internally-operated system to reduce the number of applications and processes used.

Your system working in conjunction with the laboratory’s system will enable you to use your own software to submit samples and ensure that the information is as accurate as possible (as with our mobile app) and performing all the duties in a ‘single screen’. Knowing when a sample should be taken and receiving the notification is vital for improving compliance and optimizing your fluid analysis program. In addition, having all of this information in a single program not only adds value to the program, but creates huge efficiencies in daily maintenance and reliability tasks.

 

 

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

Published April 29, 2019

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

One-Stop Shop for Maintenance Management

Fluid analysis data is a key component to a successful asset reliability and maintenance tracking program. Do you and your maintenance team feel the frustration of accessing multiple systems just to manage your fluid analysis data and equipment information? Is utilizing multiple systems for program management starting to cause inefficiencies resulting in lost production time for your team? Looking for a one-stop shop for accessing and managing your equipment maintenance that will save you time and money?

The solution: DataConnect

This advanced solution allows all of your HORIZON® sample data to be automatically imported into your internal maintenance tracking program. By doing this, frustration, inconveniences and inefficient practices are eliminated. Organize your equipment data, submit samples and evaluate the testing results – all within one system.

  • Increase visibility
  • React quickly to high severity results
  • Cut maintenance costs
  • Prove the value of fluid analysis to leadership

Contact us for more information on how to set up DataConnect for your fluid analysis program!

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

Published February 26, 2019

Take Your Fluid Analysis On The Go

The need and desire for people to have access to information continues to be in demand for many industries – and predictive maintenance is one of them. Utilizing HORIZON®, POLARIS Laboratories® program and data management system, creates viable solutions for saving time and equipment. HORIZON can be accessed with personal computers and mobile devices, including tablets and smart phones.  The application is compatible with Apple and Android devices.

Take Your Fluid Analysis On The Go

The features and benefits of HORIZON mobile allows you to perform fluid analysis-related tasks and manage your program in the field:

-Remotely submit sample information

-Utilize management reports

-Receive sample status alerts

-See faster total turnaround time (TAT) for sample results

-Quickly review previous sample reports and specific recommendations

The mobile application’s best benefit is the ability to submit sample information remotely. This can be performed while the user is performing routine maintenance and sampling – right at the component. This results in fewer errors and time savings. Submitting samples online also moves your sample to the front of the laboratory testing queue, expediting your turnaround time – getting you your results faster.

What’s New in the App

Download or update your app to experience the latest added feature: component transfer. The mobile app now

allows you to transfer components between pieces of equipment – letting you manage your

equipment faster and easier.

 

Going Mobile

From mobile banking to meal delivery to staying connected with your friends and peers, our lives are becoming more and more connected through mobile apps and devices – so it only makes sense to take your predictive maintenance program mobile, too. HORIZON mobile app can improve your ROI, lower your maintenance costs and it is a free service when you partner with POLARIS Laboratories® for your fluid analysis services.

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

Published  January 29, 2019

 

HORIZON Mobile Update Release

What’s New

After seeing a high demand of customer requests to add this feature, we’ve released an update to the mobile application that will put more power into your mobile app. The app update allows you to edit your equipment – you can now add, duplicate and edit components in equipment management in the HORIZON mobile app.

The Power is in Your Fingertips

Update your mobile app today to experience the convenience of editing your equipment – right from your fingertips. You now have the power to:

  • Add new components
  • Duplicate existing components
  • Edit fields including:
    • Component ID
    • Fluid type
    • Component type
    • Manufacturer
    • Model
    • Filter type
    • Application
    • And more

Empower your fluid analysis, leverage the mobile app capabilities and maximize your fluid analysis program by downloading the latest version of the HORIZON Mobile app in the App Store or Google Play Store.

Work smarter, not harder

Additional real-time features of the HORIZON Mobile App include:

  • Sample Submission
  • Custom notification and alerts
  • View all sample reports
  • Sync with HORIZON web application
  • Sort and manage reports

     

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

Published November 6, 2018

The Future of Your Reliability

We live in a connected world

Do you find that your critical condition monitoring information (fluid analysis, thermography, acoustics, telematics, etc.) is stored and managed in many different places and systems? Do you have to manually connect each of these data points to come to conclusions? Companies like yours have to navigate through data and information that is too often siloed – creating unnecessary work, time and expense.

So, how do we eliminate these silos? How do we integrate data into one place and automate our reliability?

Imagine your machine creating a work order from the oil analysis results you received from the laboratory … but seamlessly, without the human connection. That’s the future of reliability – technology, integration, connections and removing the human connection.

Telematics. Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning.

This prescriptive approach enables maintenance professionals to leverage the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) by integrating siloed data into a centralized digital system.

Leveraging fluid analysis information is the key to your success today, but establishing an asset reliability model for your organization of the future is paramount. And, if executed effectively, you will establish a truly empowered user experience that will save your company countless hours and effort in manual labor and analysis. And, it will improve your impact, uptime and savings. This is the future of maintenance and reliability, but you can take your first steps today.

So, where do you start?

POLARIS Laboratories’ DataConnect feature offers advanced data integration to seamlessly connect your CMMS to HORIZON®, our award-winning online management platform. This capability does the work for you by automatically importing your HORIZON sample data into your CMMS system.

The future of operational efficiency through integration, technology and advanced systems is here. Are you ready? Talk with one of our account managers or technical business consultants to turn today’s missed opportunity into tomorrow’s success story.

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

Published October 2, 2018

Take Action & See the Savings

Have You Taken Action?

One of the most under-used and yet, most powerful tools that POLARIS Laboratories® data management system, HORIZON®, can provide our customers with the Action Taken function. Dive deeper into your sample data and recommendations and be able to:

  • Complete a work order from the recommended action item from the sample
  • Learn if you did or did not locate a problem in your equipment
  • Provide comments back to the laboratory based on your findings
  • Customize your results by narrowing down by date, severity or fluid type
  • Put in an estimated savings if you did find a problem

Run the Report an See Proven Savings

Want to see how much you’ve saved? Once you have completed action taken items you can run the Action Taken Summary Report out of HORIZON®. This report provides you with a summary of the actions that have been taken and allows you to spot trends and commonalities in issues you may be seeing, as well as provide you with total estimated savings that can prove the savings of your program. To learn more about how this report is run out of HORIZON, watch the how-to video below:

If you would like to see a demonstration of this tool, please reach out to your Account Manager.

 

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

Published September 18, 2018

Seamless Data Management Made Easy

Data from your fluid analysis program is one of the cornerstones of your asset reliability program. It helps you prioritize, plan and monitor your daily maintenance activities. In aggregate, it can also help you make strategic decisions to maximize asset life, reach your business objectives and increase your return on investment.

Ask yourself these questions to see if you’re managing your data effectively:

  1. How well is your data integrated with the rest of your reliability program to support your maintenance program?
  2. Can your maintenance planners and fleet managers access the data in a way that is seamless with your company’s internal maintenance management systems?
  3. Is your team forced to access information out of multiple platforms that create inefficiency, frustration and can lead to missed opportunities?

POLARIS Laboratories® has a solution. DataConnect effortlessly and automatically moves your fluid analysis data into your primary maintenance management software system. Simplifying your internal systems through DataConnect can help you increase value, reduce staff training costs, improve visibility of your reliability program and ensure that you are deriving maximum value from fluid sampling.

To explore the options provided by DataConnect further, POLARIS Laboratories® will work with your IT team to better understand the potential of this functionality for your organization. Just email custserv@polarislabs.com with your IT contact information and we will take the lead.

Get the most out of your data, partner with POLARIS Laboratories® and experience DataConnect.

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

Published August 28, 2018

How to Get Your Sample Results Faster

Are you wanting to receive your sample results and maintenance recommendations faster? There are many steps you can take to ensure you get your results in a timely manner – so you can quickly take action to save your equipment.

  1. Use HORIZON®
    • Register your equipment and components online or mobile app through our HORIZON data management system online or use the mobile app
    • Log your fluid sample (and barcode information) in HORIZON and submit it with the equipment information
    • Apply a barcode to your sample and send it in the mail to one of our laboratory locations
    • When we receive your sample in the mail, the barcode is scanned and automatically pulls up the sample and equipment information you submitted via HORIZON
    • Submitting your sample information online provides us with all the necessary information ahead of time – allowing us to send your results back to you faster
  2. Submit samples on the go
    • Using the convenient HORIZON mobile app for Android or Apple for mobile devices, you can submit samples right at your equipment, immediately after you take the sample
    • Submitting your sample information via the mobile app requires less fields of information
    • Read more about the benefits of online sample submission by reading Take Five and Submit Your Sample
  3. Eliminate errors if sending manually
    • If you choose not to register and submit your sample information via HORIZON, you will need to fill out the form by hand
      • It’s best to use an quick-dry ink pen to fill out the paperwork (make sure the writing is legible and the paperwork isn’t damaged from from oil spills). This will eliminate the need for sample processing to decipher handwriting or dirty paperwork – resulting in inputting incorrect information into our system.
    • Send in the sample information form with the sample to one of our laboratory locations
  4. Pull the best sample

In the maintenance field, timing is key – it can be the deciding factor whether your equipment breaks down and you have unexpected downtime. At POLARIS Laboratories®, we are continually making improvements so you can get your results back faster. After all, your equipments’ health and lifecycle depend on it.

If you have any questions about sending in your sample or need help setting up a HORIZON account, contact us at 317.808.3750 or email custserv@eoilreports.com.

HORIZON® Management Reports 101

Looking for ways to evaluate, manage and get the most out of your data? There’s a HORIZON® Management Report for that! HORIZON, our online data management platform, is a database capable of storing all your sample data, results, reports and recommendations. But, HORIZON is also a valuable resource which allows you run close to 15 different management reports to help you maximize your data. Highlighted below are just a few of the reports you can run out of HORIZON:

Severity Summary Report:

A quick and easy way for to see where your normal or critically flagged samples results are. Run the report based on a general search through your entire account or drill it down to component manufacturer or even fluid type. Check to see if there are any patterns in your testing results using this quick and easy tool – and take action.

Problem Summary Report:

Dig deeper into your sample results with the Program Summary Report. Evaluate normal and severe results by test and maintenance recommendations, making it easier to see trends in your fluid analysis sample results.

Program Condition Report:

This report will give a quick overview on how your program is running. Review overdue equipment that needs to be sent in for testing, see the average amount of time it takes for a sample to reach our laboratory for processing and see any actions taken based on the recommendations of our data analysis team.

Running Reports

Log into HORIZON and click on “Management Reports” to run these reports and more. Check out our resource for running these management reports and step-by-step instructions.

Contact us to learn how to best utilize these reports and others to make your fluid analysis program work even better for you!

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