An oil analysis program helps fleets optimize oil drain intervals based on real-world conditions, reducing unnecessary maintenance and improving engine health. By minimizing downtime and extending oil life, it can support lower total cost of operation and deliver lasting value for fleets of any size.
By Karin Haumann
With Total Cost of Operation (TCO) top of mind for most heavy-duty fleets, regular maintenance schedules are an absolute necessity to maximize efficiency and minimize downtime. How often the engine oil is changed can impact both the health of the engine as well as the bottom line. Changing the oil too soon can be an unnecessary expense and cause downtime, while extending the oil drain interval too long can create a loss in engine protection. A carefully structured engine oil analysis program can help establish the proper oil drain interval and provide a number of other benefits to fleets.
Oil Analysis Program
Engine oil plays a vital role in maintaining the health of every engine. Oil drain intervals are defined by how a truck is used and can include guidelines for fuel economy, gross vehicle weight and idle time. However, factors such as operating climate, air quality, effective maintenance practices, and more also play a part in the health and life of the oil. A truck can also experience different duty cycles in between oil changes, which must be accounted for as well.
With all of these factors to consider, how can you be certain that you are getting the maximum life out of your engine oil? In many circumstances, oil drain intervals can be customized by using an oil analysis program. This can allow fleets to safely customize oil drain intervals based on the actual operating conditions of individual trucks.
Since engine oil is the lifeblood of the engine, closely examining its characteristics can tell you a lot about its health and indicate mechanical issues with an engine. An oil analysis program can help to determine the optimum time to change the oil, which can reduce the number of oil changes and even extend them to coincide with other maintenance schedules, further reducing downtime for the truck.
Oil analysis can also determine the useful life remaining in engine oil by examining things like oxidation and nitration, additive depletion, and viscosity. Additionally, data on every oil drain can provide a record about the health of the engine by showing contaminants that can indicate issues like engine wear, fuel dilution, and soot.
Some Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) allow drain intervals to be extended beyond the published guidelines using an oil analysis program to determine the maximum life of the oil. For a minimal cost, small fleets can use an engine oil analysis program to monitor the condition of each of their trucks and customize the drain interval. Larger fleets can select trucks representative of a group of trucks within the fleet that operate in similar conditions and sample their oil to establish the optimum oil drain intervals for each group.
Photo courtesy of Shell Global Solutions.
Designing Your Program
A lubricant supplier can work with fleets to design a program that meets their individual needs and objectives. The first step is to conduct an analysis of the fleet by engine model, truck manufacturer, age, and duty cycle to determine what maximum intervals can be supported. The next step is to help determine the best high-quality engine oil for the application and which trucks are the best candidates to be representative of a larger part of the fleet.
The lubricant supplier should also help identify a select 鈥渨orst case鈥� to be used to determine the optimum oil drain interval that can be applied to trucks with similar operating conditions. This is done by grouping trucks with similar engines together and ranking them by age, duty cycle, and other factors that contribute to engine oil life. Engines from each group that represent the most severe condition from the oil are then chosen to be sampled. Sampling data on these trucks can then be applied to others without having to take samples from every truck. Fleets can also choose to sample used oil on all their trucks, monitoring engine health and providing data to support resale value when the time comes.
Lasting Value
An oil analysis program helps fleets optimize oil drain intervals based on real-world conditions, reducing unnecessary maintenance and improving engine health. By minimizing downtime and extending oil life, it can support lower total cost of operation and deliver lasting value for fleets of any size. | WA
Karin Haumann is OEM Technical Manager for Shell Global Solutions. She provides technical and engineering support to OEM customers. Shell Lubricants is committed to helping fleets reduce the TCO of their trucks across duty cycles and operating conditions with high-quality engine oils and oil analysis. The line of Shell Rotella synthetic blend and full synthetic engine oils can help increase fuel economy and help reduce carbon emissions. Oil analysis through Shell LubeAnalyst can help optimize oil change intervals, which can help fleets ensure maximum protection of their engines and have the peace of mind that comes with taking the guesswork out of oil changes. For more information, visit .