Laboratory analysis of lubricants and greases used in the industry can help reduce costs through diagnostic reports on equipment. It is an important step in predictive maintenance, we learned from Florin Aconstantinesei, Manager of the Terraverde Laboratory. “Such an approach offers cost savings both in terms of power consumption and spare parts, but also and in terms of costs induced by equipment failure,” he explained at EnergynomicsTalks.
The Terraverde Laboratory offers lubricant analysis services to support maintenance teams in the industry and beyond. “What we do is to identify the failure closer to the moment it occurs, long before the point where the damage becomes evident,” said Florin Aconstantinesei.
Regardless of the industry, the main goal is to maintain the equipment safe and reliable for as long a life as possible. “We help our customers to get the maximum operating time at the lowest cost.” Specifically, the analyzes performed in the Terraverde Laboratory determine the chemical properties of the oil, the contamination with ferrous and non-ferrous particles, as well as the contamination with other liquids. “This allows us to assess the state of internal wear of the equipment, to create a unique history for each piece of equipment and, last but not least, to obtain savings by eliminating unscheduled corrective maintenance,” Florin Aconstantinesei explained.
A case study presented at EnergynomicsTalks showed that the frequency of analysis was rapidly reduced as the data allowed the construction of a specific profile. “At the beginning, we were doing our analysis every hundred hours of operation. We’ve come fast enough to do our analyzes every 700 hours of operation. At the same time, we managed to extend the life of the lubricant by 2.800-3.000 hours between exchanges, which meant a saving of 1.600 euros,” said Florin Aconstantinesei.
An additional source of savings is the timely replacement of worn parts before major damage occur. “We recommended replacing some parts. According to customer data, the breakdown of the parts and the failure impact on the equipment would have cost more than 4.000 euros,” the Manager of the Terraverde Laboratory said.
“The savings brought by preventive maintenance constitute additional budget that can be reinvested”, points out Florin Aconstantinesei.
“The savings brought by preventive maintenance constitute additional budget that can be reinvested”, points out Florin Aconstantinesei.
“We use this predictive maintenance tool to accumulate unique history and databases,” he adds. The history created by this monitoring technique collects vital information on the chemical composition of the oil, contamination, degradation, etc., as well as on the health of the machine and mechanical wear, all based on testing an oil sample.