On site analysis saves money

It doesn’t take a major study to tell equipment owners and operators that an on-site machine and fluid analysis can help save time and reduce costs. In fact, more and more preventive maintenance programs now offer mining companies total “on-site” services to keep their machines running and out of the shop.

“To stay maximally productive, mines need real-time information they can act on as part of their daily planning instead of a periodic checkup,” says Tom Barnes, Product Support Manager of P&H, a manufacturer of surface mining equipment including giant electric shovels, draglines, and blasthole drills.

“The reason: equipment is bigger and more complex; mines are more remote; and sophisticated technical help is harder to get, especially in emerging markets.”

Fluid analysis, of course, is vital to the health of all mining equipment, not just the million-dollar ones, but taking and sending hundreds of lubricant samples every month to an off-site laboratory for analysis is a costly management nightmare at more than $20 per sample. That cost is multiplied when mine managers have to wait for results, anywhere from days to weeks, leaving key production equipment susceptible to sudden, unscheduled downtime if needed repairs are not made beforehand.

Real-time on-site analysis is now eliminating that wait and costly sampling with equipment that is as easy to use as an ATM. In 10 minutes or less, operators can have comprehensive analysis showing metal wear and contamination before equipment loss and downtime become catastrophic, allowing mine managers to repair their equipment faster and get it back in service more cost effectively than ever.

“Any mechanical piece of equipment can fail if you don’t stay on top of preventive maintenance, especially in a rough and remote mining environment,” says Jon Rose, who has 40 years of experience in the mining industry as owner of Megatrol Inc., a provider of proactive solutions for efficient mining equipment management and maintenance.

“An extra hour of operation can at times lead to very expensive down time and that is a prime reason for an on-site oil analysis program,” says Rose. “Waiting for test results from off-site labs is a risk I prefer to avoid due to the very high costs of equipment and the overall expense of down time.”

Since mines are typically in remote locations, sending samples to off-site labs takes time. Even 24-hour turnaround from an off-site lab does not factor in the time to ship the sample through the mail, or via overnight delivery (at additional cost to the sender). Even off-site labs acknowledge that samples degrade over time. Furthermore, samples that are mishandled or damaged during shipping can also affect the integrity of the results.

“Many times off-site oil analysis results are not available due to shipping or performance delays which can result in serious mechanical failures and downtime,” says Rose.

“An On-Site Analysis lab provides a complete view of wear metals and physical properties in 10 to 15 minutes,” says Rose. “Put the sample in the machine, follow the touch screen prompts, and don’t touch it again until the tests are run.”

According to Rose, such fast test results can save an engine, transmission or a major bearing on key mine equipment.

For more information contact info@onsite-analysis.com; or visit www.on-siteanalysis.com