The Case for Building Strong Partnerships

When developing an oil analysis program for your organization, one of the key elements to consider is the relationship between your reliability and maintenance teams and the oil analysis lab. The format for these relationships can vary significantly – from simply transactional (submit sample, get results) to a more nuanced and fulsome partnership support structure (i.e. supporting data interpretation, work order management, training, etc.) such as our CARE program. Fluid Life works with our customers to help develop the optimal program that suits their individual needs.

Let’s look at an example of one of our remote northern mining customers. This open pit mining operation began commercial production in 2017 and has an approximate 12-year life span. The mine started oil analysis with Fluid Life in 2016 during ramp up and was essentially a transactional relationship through a third-party service provider..

The Challenge

In 2020, the mine had an initiative to improve their overall oil analysis program effectiveness. The team was experiencing the following issues:

• Insufficient data to optimize corrective decision-making process (routine analysis wasn’t enough).
• Lack of time and expertise to stay on top of new results daily.
• Lack of “macro” perspective metrics to understand the ongoing health of their components and fleets for improved long-term planning.
• Desire to implement standardized testing protocols they had in place across other mine sites.

The Solution

In 2020, in response to their request, we implemented additional testing through automated lab triggers and initially provided a higher level of program support through their Fluid Life Account Manager – essentially a CARE “lite” type of service. This eventually evolved into a full CARE engagement.

In partnership with the Fluid Life Account Manager and CARE team, the customer had the following items implemented to optimize the customer’s oil analysis program.

• Additional testing was implemented for all types of production equipment (haul trucks, shovels, and drills). This advanced testing provided more information and support for maintenance decisions on whether intervention was required when oil condition became abnormal.
• A triggered advance testing matrix was developed which incorporated the following tests focusing on contamination and large debris analysis for “problematic cases”: Total Magnetic Iron, Karl-Fischer, Sediment Patch, SEM, Analytical Ferrography).
• Optimized Flagging Limits through statistical analysis of their own historical data, OEM recommendations and failed component trends.
• Implemented a daily CARE Review and Alert Notifications to monitor flagged results.
• Set up bi-weekly Meetings for open and continuous communication from both teams.
• Created custom “Bad Actor” reports to provide insight on fleet and individual component health to help with their long-term maintenance planning strategies.  Which is super important as a remote facility.
• Reviewed problem (most flagged) equipment quarterly and adjusted flags or testing as needed based on nuisance alarm or genuine problems.

Throughout the years different issues have been looked at and resolved from the additional oversight on the fluid analysis program.

• Fluid Life investigated excess and unexplainable copper in wheel motor results. The issue was found to be related to the kidney loop filter machines needing maintenance.
• In another case, poor results on engine oil samples were investigated. The issue arose because a specific maintenance procedure was missing causing excess oil to be retained and carried over during an oil change.
• The customer adopted SEM-EDS large particle analysis to dig deeper into abnormal engine sample results such as high Lead wear and elevated Copper levels, and to investigate a persistent vibration issue which continued following maintenance troubleshooting. To learn more about these specific cases, download the Interpreting SEM-EDS Results case study.

The Outcome

In 2023, the customer let us know they’ve worked up to 82% Haul Truck availability which is considered high in the industry. They’ve celebrated this win internally, and with the current commodity price down this helps them remain competitive and efficient. Overall, the customer has experienced increased production and  reduced maintenance downtime costs.  They attribute this to better alignment between their maintenance and planning teams, being proactive (with their oil analysis program being a part of that) and repairing small issues before they become severe.

Overall, total program costs increased by approximately 50% with the addition of advanced triggered testing and the CARE engagement (custom reports, extra testing, bi-weekly meetings). However, this did not break the bank. The increased equipment uptime and availability is proof the program enhancements work. In addition, the program has had continue success even through full maintenance / reliability team turnover.  Having us involved assured that nothing fell off the track