Oil Samples and Undercarriage Measuring

[catflyer]

I need the opinion of heavy equipment owners/fleet managers:

Would you pay a third party company (aside from a dealer) to keep track of maintenance intervals on your equipment to include: pulling oil samples and having them analyzed, and perform undercarriage measurements? This is just an opinion post. I am not soliciting business for myself or any other company, just asking.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Hey, welcome!
Oil analysis is a very useful maintenance tool. Used properly, it can save a lot in downtime. I use it on four 16-710G EMD's, two Cat 3412's, two 4.16 kV 12,000 HP propulsion motor and line shaft bearings, and lots of hydraulic systems. I also have the Pencool treated coolant tested in the engines, another very useful tool.

The undercarriage measurements you can do yourself. Used to be able to purchase the template type wear gauges. This also falls into the realm of daily inspections. A dealer has their reputation at stake just like a third party, but both will have disclaimers and no guarantees. Unless you personally know the dealer or third party, you would want to check their work until a level of trust is achieved.