Proactive, data-based maintenance ensures lubricants are kept in peak condition, improving asset performance, lowering operating cost and extending equipment life, says oil analysis specialists WearCheck Lubrigard division manager Chris Hattingh.

Aligned with this approach, WearCheck’s Lubricant-Enabled Reliability (LER) philosophy treats lubricants as a controllable asset-protection system rather than a consumable.

As opposed to traditional lubrication maintenance practices, which are often time- or calendar-based, the LER approach uses oil analysis, oxidation-life testing and cleanliness data to make decisions on changing or restoring oil, rather than following fixed drain or grease intervals.

Recognising that contamination is a primary driver of wear and shortened oil life, the LER approach focuses on controlling particulate and moisture ingress through filtration, breathers, controlled handling and advanced sampling practices.

Additionally, it uses sensor data and historical oil analysis trends to build ongoing condition profiles, enabling proactive maintenance planning as opposed to reacting to failure symptoms.

Aligned with this philosophy, Lubrigard’s fuels, lubricants, air and coolants (FLAC) strategy acknowledges that new oil is not necessarily clean oil, and that contamination is often introduced during storage, transfer and handling.

“Our FLAC strategy drives our focus on controlled handling, storage practices and filtration, using data mining and targeted analysis to identify contamination risks early,” says Hattingh.

He explains that the strategy is aligned with existing reliability-improvement projects, focusing on optimising critical assets through a carefully planned hydrocarbon-management programme.

The FLAC strategy serves as a practical reliability layer over and above existing maintenance systems by targeting known wear contributors and mitigating them proactively.

FLAC prioritisation begins with asset criticality in the production chain, focusing on equipment where failure would have the greatest impact on throughput, safety, cost and downtime risk.

Following this, data mining and targeted analysis highlights where contamination or lubricant health are trending negatively. Interventions are then focused on the highest-risk systems first, Hattingh explains.

He notes that a well-designed hydrocarbon programme typically includes the correct lubricant selection for each application, avoiding common misapplications that drive premature failures.

The programme integrates contamination-control hardware and practices such as filtration, appropriate breathers, controlled transfer and handling systems such as intermediate bulk container (IBC) management and standardised connections and adaptors to minimise ingress.

Built-in monitoring and disciplined sampling are also essential, ensuring oil analysis trends are reliable enough to guide maintenance decisions.

Hattingh advises clients to match filtration to system requirements, set target cleanliness levels and enforce handling discipline, and use breathers that ensure only clean, dry air enters reservoirs.

Further, sampling valves should be installed to allow samples to be taken under operating conditions, improving representativeness and repeatability.

He adds that cross-contamination can be reduced through colour-coded containers and adaptor kits for controlled connections, while advanced testing supports data-backed oil-life extension decisions.

Fit-for-purpose Equipment
WearCheck’s FLAC strategy is supported by Lubrigard’s product and service range, which is designed to keep lubricants clean, dry, correctly specified and consistently sampled. This ensures lubricants are effective for longer, helps reduce oil change frequency and lowers waste-oil impact, says Hattingh.

Recognising that the most common contamination challenges typically include particulate ingress, such as dust, moisture and combustion by-products, the range includes offline and bypass filtration designed to remove particulate and water contamination.

Lubrigard’s breathers and filtration exclude particles as small as 5 µm, reducing contaminants and associated impacts on oil condition.

To combat combustion by-products and soot, Hattingh explains that fine fuel filtration ensures cleaner fuel, reducing soot loading into crankcase oil. This, in turn, lowers additive stress and supports extended oil life.

To prevent water contamination, Lubrigard’s disposable and rebuildable breathers ensure only clean, dry air enters reservoir headspaces while desiccant configurations combine drying media, consisting of silica gel and zeolite, to remove water and particulate matter.

Hattingh adds that advanced diagnostics, such as oxidation-life, as well as rotating pressure vessel oxidation testing evaluate oxidation resistance and remaining antioxidant lifespan.

Data-backed Analysis
Lubrigard’s approach is designed to work with condition monitoring, as an extension of WearCheck’s condition monitoring ecosystem. WearCheck’s core service offering is built around scientific used-oil and fluid analysis to improve component availability and reliability, says Hattingh.

The Lubrigard team leverages oil analysis data and advanced sensor technologies to provide real-time insight into lubricant health and the condition of the components it serves.

This integration is enhanced through iGard, an Internet-of-Things-based system that combines sensory technology, historical oil-analysis trends and real-time data to deliver a cohesive view of asset health, early wear warnings and proactive maintenance planning.

Further supporting clients, WearCheck offers a range of LER training options for customers, including online and onsite courses, many of which are accredited by industry organisation International Council for Machinery Lubrication, he concludes.