Predictive & Preventative Maintenance

The difference between a new engine and a worn engine is a fraction of a millimetre in all the critical areas.

The lubricating properties of oil are seriously affected by contaminants which are abrasive and/or corrosive and attack the critical moving parts.

On-site electronic oil quality monitoring will give you an accurate assessment of the total contaminant levels in the lubricant.

These contaminants include:

• in crankcase oils: Fuel dilutent (bi-products of combustion); water; dirt; wear metals; oxides; soot; acid; sludge; carbon; gums.
• in gear oils, diffs and final drives, hydraulic oils: water; dirt; wear metals; oxides; sludge; carbon; gums.
  
  

In other words any contaminant which changes the dielectric value of the oil (as new) is dangerous.

On-site oil quality monitoring takes the guesswork out of oil changes and ensures safe limits within recommended or extended oil drain cycles.

By utilising PM Lubricants Identigraph Reporting Procedures you can be assured that your lubricant is safe or, if the Identigraph indicates unusual increases in the total contaminant level, a sample can be drawn for laboratory analysis to accurately determine the nature of the problem.

Remedial action can then be taken before the problem becomes worse, thereby preventing unnecessary expense.

(NB - PM Lubricants recommends that you ALWAYS change your oil filters at manufacturers recommended intervals.)

What do you mean by ‘Predictive Maintenance’ in lubrication?

The term “Predictive Maintenance” is synonymous with Condition Monitoring and infers predicting potential lubrication problems and advisable or necessary Preventative Maintenance action. PM Lubricants Australia provides Lubri-Sensors, which are hand held Electronic Oil Quality Analysers, for determining the ‘safe’ or other condition of the lubricant while in use on site.

A ‘Remote Monitoring’ service is also provided using the same equipment which can also highlight abnormal conditions such as water, fuel and metals of sub micron particle size. The process takes only a few minutes on-site, and may provide early warning of a catastrophic failure which can be prevented.

Any abnormality will suggest a larger sample be taken and sent to an Oil Analysis Laboratory.

This is Predictive Maintenance.

What do you mean by ‘Preventative Maintenance’ in lubrication?

There are a variety of forms of Preventative Maintenance, some of which are unnecessarily expensive. Eg., maintenance scheduled by time, ie., all hydraulic pumps within the Company should be brought in for service every 6 months. But while some may have worked 2,000 hours, others may have worked only 50 hours. So it was unnecessary, and therefore expensive to remove, disassemble, reassemble and replace in terms of labour costs.

As the lubricant is the life-blood of any lubricated machinery, an on-site knowledge of the condition of the lubricant can provide indications of any necessary mechanical action required. * Refer Predictive Maintenance.

Preventative Maintenance then in PM terms is: 

1. Ensuring the equipment is in safe condition to operate productively and economically until the next inspection.

2. To take any necessary Mechanical action to restore the equipment to safe condition.