Condition monitoring specialist, WearCheck’s diagnostic manager John Evans, recently diagnosed his two millionth oil analysis sample, making him the third in WearCheck’s team of eight diagnosticians to reach this milestone.
While official statistics are not readily available, it is extremely rare on a global level to have diagnosed this quantity of samples, therefore the achievement by Evans aligns him with only a handful of top diagnosticians in the world who have reached an equivalent milestone – among them, fellow WearCheck diagnosticians Michelle Allis and Rowan Maartens.
WearCheck has been conducting used oil analysis for more than 40 years, and the diagnosticians have, between them, a combined 175 years of experience. Thanks to meticulous record-keeping, the company has now amassed a sample diagnosis database of over 12 million samples, which grows by around 750 000 samples each year.
Evans outlines the importance of the database, which contains invaluable information about component condition trends over time. “The power of our database lies in the in-depth insight it provides into the inner workings of machines across all makes and models. In fact, we often have access to more data than the OEMs simply due to the large number of samples we diagnose,” he says.
“On occasion, we even help OEMs with their own research and development and the setting of limits, although we always recommend rather referring to trends when diagnosing samples that indicate potential component failure,” adds Evans.
“The database is also used extensively in our customer training modules, where the different circumstances of a component are studied – such as operating conditions, presence of contaminants, varying temperature and other external factors.”
In addition to traditional used oil analysis, WearCheck also offers reliability solutions services such as thermography, vibration analysis, balancing, laser alignment, motor current analysis and milling.
Condition monitoring is used to boost machine reliability and therefore enhance profitability across a range of industries, including mining, aviation, power generation, transport, marine, earth-moving and others.
WearCheck’s footprint covers 15 laboratories in nine countries (RSA, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, DRC, Ghana, India and Dubai), with a presence in several other African countries.
