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.
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