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Today’s oil analysis capabilities offer a great deal more than just monitoring component health. With today’s technology, along with performing the proper tests, we can:
Why Testing Now is Crucial
In today’s world, there’s another reason for oil analysis and why you need to do it now more than ever. Over the past many months, lubricants have been and continue to be in short supply. This is being caused by increased demand, additive shortages, logistics delays and a shortage of delivery drivers. Unfortunately, many companies are on allocation and only receiving partial amounts of their lubricant delivery. If you can’t get the lubricant supply you need, it might be a good time to look at how to get more out of the lubricant you already have.
Condition-Based Monitoring
Oil analysis is the tool to extending and optimizing drain intervals without compromising your equipment reliability. Many customers are still doing a preventive maintenance (PM) program, rather than a condition-based monitoring program. Often times, when a used oil sample is sent to the laboratory, the oil has already been disposed of. Now is the ideal time to look at moving to a condition-based monitoring program and let the laboratory’s data guide you on how much farther you can safely go with the lubricant you have in service. Ultimately, optimizing drain intervals reduces cost and waste, and helps lower maintenance costs when done correctly.
So, with finished lubricants in short supply right now, plus the ever increasing price of crude oil in today’s world (which ultimately raises the price of finished lubricants) one of your best options might be to consider extending your oil drains with “extended drain comments” from the data analysts and subject matter experts at POLARIS Laboratories®. Please see below an example of a used oil analysis report with “extended drain comments”:
Click to View the Entire Report
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Short on lubricants? Lubricant supplier has your company on volume allocation?
Want to save on costs? Want to keep equipment running?
Look no further than the lubricants you have on hand.
Lubricants can be safely extended past the recommended oil drain. This requires testing of the lubricant to verify its physical properties and to evaluate its ability to continue properly protecting the equipment. A routine, consistent Fluid Analysis Program can determine any unusual wear pattern in the equipment, identify and control any contamination present and determine the suitability of the lubricant for continued use.
Therefore, if you follow the appropriate guidelines and participate in fluid analysis, you can squeeze a little more from your lubricants during these challenging times. For additional information on how to successfully achieve this, take a look at this infographic:
Five Tips to Optimize Oil Drains
If you would like additional information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact POLARIS Laboratories®.
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With POLARIS Laboratories® data integration solution, DataConnect, you can sync your sample data and submit samples through your CMMS. DataConnect now comes with a feature to sync daily component meter readings from your maintenance management system or telematics with your sample data.
Before this new functionality, POLARIS Laboratories® provided sample schedule reports in HORIZON® based on an assumption of the number of days it would take to reach your ‘sample due date’. Here’s an example: your last sample was performed at 2,000 hours and your sample interval is 500 hours, we would forecast, based on interval days that you provided, the date the next sample was due (sample interval 500 hours, equipment operated 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, number of days to reach 500 hours = 88 days, hours on component at last sample + 88 days = next sample date).
In a perfect world, this would suffice for optimal use of your maintenance data, but very few companies run equipment on a predefined number of hours per day. In reality, run time is dependent on many factors.
When you connect your data together through DataConnect and provide the laboratory with daily meter readings, we can forecast your next sample due date with much greater accuracy. Our team is working on additional functionality to send you alerts when your equipment is approaching the next sample due date based on these real-time meter readings.
We’re on the journey to help you achieve optimal equipment reliability – are you? Get started with DataConnect today.
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Published February 10, 2022
If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that shipping fluid analysis samples internationally has become more challenging. These challenges come from changing regulations around Brexit as well as COVID-19-related issues with sending and receiving shipments in these arduous times.
Solving these international shipping problems has been a key factor for POLARIS Laboratories in Europe. We strive to allow the seamless continuation of our customer’s analysis programs and the timely, cost-effective delivery of all samples to our laboratory located in Poznan, Poland.
Because our facility is located within the EU Economic Zone, this alleviates any Brexit-related customs issues and costs when shipping samples to a UK-based laboratory. Additionally, for any UK-based customers, we have a collection point located in the UK, which removes any complexities and additional costs for customers when using POLARIS Laboratories® for their fluid analysis programs.
What’s more, we also have strategically located sample collection points in Antwerp, Cologne and Istanbul – which allows customers located in these markets to send in samples locally. All our collection points utilize a global courier for next-working-day delivery of all samples from each collection point to the laboratory.
POLARIS Laboratories® offers larger customers the opportunity to utilize our own courier accounts, which further eases the complexity and costs associated with shipping samples to our laboratory.
Video: Fluid Analysis in Europe
When you switch to POLARIS Laboratories®, you save time and money – not only on shipping samples, but also on maintenance & reliability budgets as a whole.
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Published February 3, 2022
Using heavy-duty Extended Life Coolant (ELC) within your equipment means the coolant can reach a longer service life, according to coolant manufacturer guidelines. However, issues may arise during extended use. As these issues persist, the coolant’s ability to properly protect internal components can diminish over time.
Monitoring Coolant Properties and Conditions
Coolant manufacturers recommend monitoring engine coolant properties while in the system. Condition monitoring is a key tool and can assist with reaching the indicated lifespan of the coolant and identifying preventable problems like:
Early detection of these problems with regular coolant sampling will provide maintenance personnel with proper recommendations and suggested corrections to address abnormal fluid conditions and can result in fewer failures.
Monitoring ELC with Testing
Monitoring ELC corrosion inhibitors require different test methods compared to test methods used for conventional supplemental corrosion additives (SCAs). Proper laboratory testing and fluid information are important when submitting ELC samples to the laboratory for routine testing. Some ELC formulations that only contain carboxylic acid corrosion inhibitors may utilize a different curve for determination of glycol concentration and ELC fluids require additional testing to monitor carboxylic acid. Understanding the proper testing needed, performing regular fluid analysis and making proper adjustments will assist with reaching the coolant’s extended lifespan.
Learn More About ELC Testing
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When looking at options available to extend oil drain intervals, a U.K.-based power generation company contacted Delta-Xero® (a fluid systems manufacturer) to assess their new filtration systems as a potential way to remove or reduce contamination levels, optimize oil drain intervals and realize better cost and environmental savings on the company’s operating units.
Download the case study below to see how the power generation customer utilized micropatch testing on their samples to better understand the condition of the oil, and with close monitoring and regular sampling, was able to extend the oil drain interval from a weekly change of around 150 hours, to an operating time of 650 hours on average. This has resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of oil changes required on each engine, as well as significant savings on the labor involved, and the associated disposal costs of the used oil from each change out.
Download the Case Study
Any number of component ID’s registered on the HORIZON® platform can instantly be rendered into a QR code directly from your list of equipment. The QR codes can be conveniently printed and affixed near the sample point of the corresponding equipment with a tag or label. The component ID tag can then be scanned anytime with your smartphone while using the HORIZON mobile app. Whether registering a sample after collection or searching for the latest sample report, component ID tags effortlessly identify the asset’s sample point on-the-spot.
Here are just a few advantages of utilizing component ID QR code tags:
Learn More about QR code tags
Sample. Ship. Results.
Taking into account the shipping issues and labor shortages affecting shipments in addition to the holidays fast approaching, it’s more important now than ever to ship your samples as soon as you can so they can make it to the laboratory for testing.
We know how vital your sample results are when faced with making tough maintenance decisions and we want to help you prepare to navigate this crazy time to eliminate your equipment’s downtime.
The good news is, we’re providing a few steps you can take now to help tackle today’s shipping problems we’re facing.
1. Pre-order Kits and Supplies
Place orders for sample kits now. Having a back stock of sample jars on hand for when equipment is scheduled for its upcoming preventive maintenance makes it simple and convenient to pull your samples. Don’t forget to add tubing, vacuum pumps, prepaid postage and valves to your cart!
2. Implement a Shipping Strategy
Get those important samples taken and send them on their way to the closest laboratory as soon as you can (click here to see all of our locations). Timing is everything these days and, if you plan accordingly, you can avoid your package being delayed by this season’s holiday shipping surge. Also, be sure to utilize carriers who offer a trackable shipping service to our laboratory doors. This way you know when your package arrives for processing.
3. Communication
Team communication is very important as well this holiday season. Make sure your team is prepared to ship samples out to a laboratory location closest to them as soon as they can (click here for a guide on How to Ship Samples). In addition, make sure they know that they can purchase prepaid UPS labels on the online store when ordering kits. These pre-paid labels are perfect for a 10-pack of samples and are designed to reduce packaging preparation time so you can get your samples on their way to the laboratory.
While these are unprecedented times, POLARIS Laboratories® is continually looking for ways to save you time and money.
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There are many helpful resources, videos, technical bulletins, position papers and reports to run in the HORIZON® Technical Library that it can be hard to know where to start. So, where do you start? Well, it depends on your role in your fluid analysis program.
We’ve put together a quick guide to understanding where you need to be within the Technical Library to get the most out of what resources are there:
Using the Technical Library
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