There are several instances where trucks, tractors, and dozers go many hours and miles without used oil analysis and seemingly everything is fine. Or is it? How would you know if there was a slight coolant or fuel leak? What if you were able to catch a coolant leak before it became an issue? What if you were able to plan your downtime based on information about machine wear condition, lubricant state, and contamination?
Cost savings from a well-executed oil analysis program come from reducing production loss from unplanned down time due to catastrophic failure, decreasing repair costs, and eliminating unnecessary oil changes.
For less than $30, you can utilize used oil analysis. This diagnostic tool is often overlooked but offers insights into the internal conditions of equipment that cannot be found with other methods. With regular, accurate sampling, the accumulation of historical data on equipment makes used oil analysis a powerful predictive maintenance tool.
The cause-and-effect relationship discovered by used oil analysis is instrumental in the development of a maintenance program. As oil circulates throughout a system, it undergoes both physical and chemical changes. After a sample of oil has been in service for a time, it contains wear metals and contaminants which provide information on the internal health of the equipment when analyzed. Elevated levels of wear metals and contaminants are indications of real or potential problems. They can give maintenance managers a clue as to the root cause of the problem, thus eliminating unplanned downtime and out-of-pocket expenses.
So, is oil analysis a waste of time? Not if you value your equipment.