Shell Lubricants has revamped its Shell LubeAnalyst oil-analysis program. It now boasts an online user interface that the company said “offers a worldwide sample history and failure trends on various types of equipment and engine types.” Shell also said the program offers a scientific approach to preventive maintenance.
A regular oil analysis program helps customers build a historic database, allowing them to watch for trends in a variety of areas, noted Shell Lubricants, pointing out that the Shell LubeAnalyst program offers easy-to-use software that allows customers to view and track test results and view offline management information.
“Analyzing used engine oil after every oil change provides an early warning system that may ultimately help lower customers’ total cost of operations,” said Walt Silviera, North American technical manager, Shell Lubricants. “By leveraging the results of the Shell LubeAnalyst program, customers can identify equipment problems before major downtime or expensive maintenance is required.”
Used-oil samples provided through the Shell LubeAnalystprogram can reveal whether contaminants such as water, coolant, fuel or dirt are getting into the oil, indicating head-gasket leaks, leaking fuel injectors, or other problems, the company noted.. Spectrochemical analysis detects the presence of wear metals in the oil–and unusually high amounts of wear metals could be a sign of abnormal wear. The analysis also measures the oil’s viscosity, base number (reserve alkalinity) and fuel-soot level.
The knowledge gained from the Shell LubeAnalys program results can help optimize oil drain intervals, increase equipment reliability, minimize unscheduled downtime, and more precisely track operating efficiency and maintenance practices, according to Shell Lubricants. This combination can contribute to lower total operating costs and help customers plan and schedule maintenance in advance, the company added.
Shell Lubricants also noted that working with Shell Lubricants technical team members can help optimize operations. Leveraging a worldwide database of sample history and failure trends on a vast inventory of components provides insights that can help predict future problems based on real information, the company explained.
Moreover, added Shell Lubricants, the service can provide information on whether the proper oil is being used and whether the proper oil-drain interval is maintained for specific operating conditions and equipment duty cycle.
