Risk management advice for manufacturers (to avoid oil-related problems)

There are many areas where oil-related problems can occur within manufacturing environments, regardless of the size or type of your organisation.

For instance, oil can easily become contaminated by the surrounding environment or by not keeping it at the right level of cleanliness (read our blog for the steps to take to ensure your oil is up to standard).

Either way, oil contamination ultimately leads to machine breakdown, which results in lost production, expensive repairs and even financial penalties for missing deadlines – all problems with major repercussions that you can do without.

Intelligent, independent oil analysis can help you plan your maintenance effectively and avoid the risk of oil-related problems from occurring.

Read on for the steps manufacturers can take to ensure the condition of their oil is regularly monitored and avoid any potential risks that can impact production:

STEP 1: Sort the basics (your budget) first

First things first, and as obvious as it may sound, you need to ensure you set aside a dedicated budget for condition monitoring.

While it may seem like yet another expenditure you can do without, oil analysis is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to identify conditions that threaten your production. More importantly, it’s an investment that will save you valuable time and money in the long run. Did you know that 80% of all equipment failures are related to poor or improper lubrication practices?

STEP 2: Take a committed approach

Regular analysis will flag if your particle count is off target in advance and identify the root cause(s) of the contamination. What’s more, our engineers will work with you to recommend the most appropriate solution and if your analysis flags a critical issue, will notify you within 24 hours so you can take care of it immediately. Contrary to popular belief, staying on top of the condition of your oil is an on-going process not an activity that’s carried out sporadically.

STEP 3: Free up your resources

Who takes your samples? Do you always do them yourself because, historically, that’s the way it’s always been? While this isn’t necessarily the wrong action to be taking, it can be a drain on resources. However, there are other measures you can take. For example, letting our engineers take your samples, (a) ensures your oil sampling stays on schedule and (b) frees up your maintenance staff to get on with their own duties.

STEP 4: Don’t ignore the recommendations

When our engineers carry out your oil analysis, they provide you with an action list that tells you what needs to be done and when it needs doing. Following these recommendations makes preventative maintenance straightforward and easy to implement. At the very least, your reports should put your data into context, for instance, by saying that the level needs close monitoring, but no immediate action. This means you don’t have to spend time interpreting the data yourself.

While it can be easy to fall into the trap of only thinking about oil when there’s a problem, it won’t protect you from machine downtime and the associated risks, such as expensive repairs or missed production targets. However, by taking our practical steps, you’ll be able to pre-empt any oil problems and fundamentally, save time and money.

Discover the three issues you can solve with oil analysis, read our blog, ‘3 problems you can prevent with the right oil analysis.’