Parker employs a variety of techniques for machine monitoring to ensure equipment is lubricated properly including used oil analysis, without interrupting the machine's work or production. Condition monitoring methods, like lube testing, are closely related with other terms such as predictive maintenance, proactive maintenance, and reliability centered maintenance. The useful and accurate assessment of equipment and lube condition helps improve maintanence efficiency and reduce costs.

Tankers, bulk carriers, passenger ships and support vessels need fuel, lubricant and water for their critical systems. Parker's condition monitoring equipment helps vessels avoid costly downtime. Parker covers testing of in-use lubricants including system oils, hydraulics and scrapedown oil from 2 stroke liner scavenge drains; testing and sampling of bunker fuel for quality and quantity; measuring of exhaust emissions for NOx and SOx, CO2; monitoring for valve wear and leakage; and testing machinery bearings and slideways for wear or poor lubrication.

Industrial applications share common concerns including 24/7 operation with high costs for production loss; unique, expensive machinery; remote, hard to reach components; and risk of contamination ingress from processing or processed materials, including water. Parker's range of condition monitoring technologies help companies maximize the uptime of their machines, keeping them in the best possible condition.

Oil exploration is quite possibly the most brutal environment Parker sensors are exposed to in terms of operating conditions. Drilling rigs must safely complete a well in the shortest possible time and everything else must support this mission. Offshore installations are uniquely different from marine, and Parker understands the specific challenges. On-line and On-site testing strategies are available to provide customers with unprecedented protection against single point failures.

The remote and ever changing location of an onshore drilling rig presents a unique challenge. Rig staff need timely information from reliable sensors to help reduce downtime and keep the rig operating smoothly. On-line and on-site testing strategies are available from Parker to provide companies with condition information. Condition monitoring of Top Drives, Mud Pumps, Cranes, Drawworks and other critical assets enable production to stay on track, helping to avoid unplanned, costly maintenance.

The number one enemy of off-highway equipment is 'dirt', or abrasives. This equipment usually operates in very dusty, muddy or otherwise hostile environments. Excessively contaminated lubricants are inevitable from time to time. The monitoring of Si (silicon) is a major requirement for OH condition monitoring programs. Particle counts can also be important in the OH setting. This type of testing is usually done at a Tier 3 lab. However, steps can be taken at Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels that help mitigate machine contamination and avert a failure.

Over-the-road trucks enjoy a reasonably contamination-free environment. Condition monitoring focuses on helping companies spot oil contamination to avoid operating problems and extend oil changes to reduce the costs of oil and oil disposal. Sending samples to an off-site (Tier 3) lab can be time consuming. Using a Tier 1 Oil Condition sensor, can help alert companies to any existing problems and allow immediate action to be taken.

Parker Condition Monitoring offers solutions for all options, with particular emphasis on increasing demand for early warning On-Line and On-Site solutions.

• Oil analysis services - degradation and contamination
• Wear metals - physical particles in the oil flow
• Emissions - process deviation from optimum
• Gas and valve leakage - process integrity

Technologies that provide an early warning are getting more sophisticated. Early warning minimizes costs when machinery fails and, more critically, when operating revenue is lost due to extended outages for unplanned major repairs.

Contact us to learn more.