Use the right maintenance strategy for the decision.
Oil analysis is not a strategy by itself. It becomes valuable when a representative sample, a technically appropriate test and a defined response rule support an asset-management decision.
Strategy comparison
Time-based, condition-based and cause-based work.
A mature programme combines approaches according to asset function, consequence and failure behaviour.
| Strategy | Primary trigger | Role of oil analysis | Best application | Practical action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Periodic / preventive maintenance | Calendar time, operating hours, cycles or planned shutdown | Verify whether scheduled service remains appropriate and establish a repeatable history. | Failure behaviour is age-related, regulation/OEM schedules govern, or condition data is not yet mature. | Sample before the planned intervention so laboratory evidence can refine the next interval. |
| Predictive maintenance | Measured condition, rate of change and corroborated degradation | Identify developing wear, contamination or lubricant degradation before functional failure. | A detectable failure-development interval exists and the asset consequence justifies surveillance. | Trend comparable samples and increase frequency when the rate of change accelerates. |
| Proactive maintenance | Root causes and controllable stressors | Remove dirt, water, wrong lubricant, overheating and poor handling before they create wear. | Contamination and lubrication practices are major life-limiting factors. | Set cleanliness, moisture and handling controls, then verify the improvement by trend. |
| Reliability-centred maintenance | Asset function, failure consequence and technically applicable task | Select oil analysis only where it can detect a relevant failure mode early enough to act. | Criticality and failure-mode analysis are available. | Combine oil analysis with vibration, temperature, inspection and performance data. |
| Root-cause / corrective maintenance | Failure, trip, repeated alarm or abnormal inspection | Preserve evidence, distinguish contamination from wear and verify the effectiveness of repair. | The immediate risk is controlled and an evidence-led investigation is required. | Collect pre-drain oil, filter/debris and post-repair baseline samples before evidence is lost. |
Closed-loop workflow
Convert a report into controlled maintenance.
01Define
Asset, failure mode, decision and consequence.
02Sample
Representative location, operating state and traceability.
03Interpret
Trend, rate of change, method limits and corroboration.
04Act
Protect, inspect, correct the source and confirm effectiveness.
Programme design
Begin with criticality and failure modes.
- Rank safety, environmental, production and repair consequences.
- Identify fluid-detectable failure modes and their development time.
- Select a routine panel and pre-agreed triggered tests.
- Set a sampling interval shorter than the expected warning window.
- Define who reviews, confirms, escalates and closes each abnormal report.
Programme governance
Measure whether action follows evidence.
- Sampling compliance and sample quality.
- Turnaround from sample to reviewed action.
- Abnormal reports with documented response.
- Confirmed catches, avoided failures and false alarms.
- Recurrence after corrective action.
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