Using Advanced Flag Limits and Alarms
By BRETT WINBERG - LUBETRAK

In the past, the users of oil analysis have had to rely on the laboratory or an oil supplier to identify when a piece of equipment is near flag or alarm limits… or near component failure.

TAKING CHARGE
Understanding the limitation of this problem, proactive companies are taking charge of their own alarms and limit settings. We have assisted individual companies' small and large, in setting the limits and alarms to reach their expectations of saving oil and extending drain intervals.

The primary purpose of alarms is to enter data so that the Oil Analyst Specialist can spend their time managing and correcting situations instead of chasing the data to find a piece of equipment at an excepted time of failure. The flag/alarm limit serves as a sign to tell the analyst that a flag limit has been passed and that action is soon required.

GAIN INSIGHT
Our technical staff feels that all issues are of the same importance. Additive elements, TBN, TAN, flash point, viscosity, lubrication properties and wear debris, equate to an oil analysis report that has some true meaning and value, instead of just filing it away for no expected return to sun light. Just as a blood sample is to a lab technician… to warn us if you or I are going to have serious health problems; the oil sample results serve our industry in a very similar fashion.

There are a couple of different styles of alarms that should be discussed to let those involved, understand what might work best for their particular application:

REF: Noria Oil Analysis Basics:
PROACTIVE ALARMS
Noria states it best when it comes to the word Proactive. Proactive alarms alert the user of abnormal conditions associated with controlling the root cause of machine and lubrication depletion. They are keyed to a proactive maintenance philosophy of setting targets and managing the lubrication conditions within those targets.

A strategic premise of proactive alarms is... they should be set to levels that will generate improvement over the past performance maintenance levels. We agree 100% about Proactive alarms. When using this method, it is proven that machine and equipment life can be extended 5 fold, not to mention, less time & money is spent changing oil and filters.

When using proactive alarms we try to control parameters like contamination to achieve machine life extension. For example, a hydraulic machine running at ISO 18/15 cleanliness will experience a three-time life extension if the fluid is cleaned to an ISO 15/12. Setting the limit to an ISO 15/12 is a goal-based limit. Now, if the same machine is running at an ISO 15/12 and control is lost allowing the contamination level to reach 18/15, we can expect a three-time increase in wear during that period.

PREDICTIVE ALARMS: Predictive alarms signal the presence of abnormal machine conditions or the onset of wear and failure. They are aligned with the goals of predictive maintenance, the early detection of machine failure.

In oil analysis, properly set predictive alarms have many advantages over other predictive maintenance methods, and as such, represent an excellent compliment to vibration analysis.

Most upcoming companies small and large are changing their methods to Proactive methods to determine root cause before a problem can give you downtime.

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