World-class condition monitoring of hydraulic systems involves the successful integration of a number of strategic elements. While in the past, walk-around inspections and gage data were the primary means of monitoring system health, today’s modem oil analysis programs apply a host of sophisticated new tools and instruments. Reliability teams at the plant site frequently commission small laboratories. In many cases the instrumentation suite includes portable and unattended sensors. The situational context is changing too as today’s hydraulic systems are increasingly designed for higher pressures, speeds, and temperatures. This paper presents a review of strategic elements that, when well conceived and implemented, can deliver vital aiding information for achieving even the toughest condition-based maintenance goals. These include the selection of test slate, deployment of incipient failure advisories, setting of targets and limits that define nonconforming conditions, exception testing, and proactive maintenance.

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I’m afraid I have some bad news … and no, it’s not about the economy. It’s about what I often call “imaginary additives”. These are the additives that seem to exist in the minds of many lubrication practitioners but don’t exist in the physical world of lubrication reality. They seem to provide solace to those who engage in lubrication negligence but torment those who pay the bills of machinery unreliability.

As good as modern lubricants may be, they are never a panacea for bad lubrication practices. Conversely, real additives can be real problem-solvers that enhance the performance and reliability of both the machine and the lubricant. So, there’s a difference between the real and imaginary. I want you to know the difference. This column will go down the list of imaginary additives and discuss the many misconceptions that pervade the lubrication community. I hate to be a myth-buster, but reality is reality, so let’s get started:

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