Oil analysis skills
Foam Is Only the Air You Can See
The foam has gone. The pump gauge is still twitching. Before adding antifoam, separate what is happening on the surface from what is travelling through the oil.
Lubrication Institute / Insights
Lubrication Insights
Practical lessons in lubrication, oil analysis and maintenance decisions.
Latest insight · Oil analysis skills
The Oil Report Says Low Iron. Keep the Metal Flake.
A reassuring iron result and a coarse flake need one review. Follow what each method collected, preserve the debris and ask for the missing evidence.
Read the articleThe collection
Explore the library
12 articles on lubrication and reliability
Bearing failure investigation
Before You Clean the Failed Bearing, Keep the Evidence
The repair can be complete while the cause is still open. Preserve the lubricant, location and removal history before the next step changes them.
Bearings
A Standby Pump Can Be Damaged While It Stands Still
Low running hours do not protect a standby bearing from vibration or water. Understand the damage, find the right instruction and know what a readiness check can actually prove.
Oil analysis skills
The Gearbox Is Hotter, but the Viscosity Report Looks Normal
A training exercise: two oil reports agree at 40 °C while the gearbox sump reads 14 °C hotter. See what the lab result answers and what to check next.
Contamination control
Water in Oil: Read the Report Before You Blame the Cooler
A rising water result can come from the machine, the sample or the test. Learn to check all three, then use the timing of the rise to decide whether an oil cooler deserves a pressure test.
Oil analysis skills
Your First Coolant Report: What an Oil Analyst Should Keep and Change
Good sampling and careful reasoning still matter. Learn which habits transfer, which rules change and what one simple dilution calculation can actually tell you.
Oil analysis
Where You Take an Oil Sample Can Change the Maintenance Decision
A cleaner report after a filter change can look like a reason to close the work order. First, check where the sample came from.
Lubrication management
Why Lubrication Training Fails When It Stops at the Classroom
The course ends on Friday. On Monday, the work order still says "grease motor". Turning that lesson into reliable work takes a clear instruction, supervised practice and a check at the machine.
Lubricant identification
When the Drum, Work Order and Machine Do Not Agree
Many lubricant mix-ups begin before a technician reaches the machine. The risk appears when the source drum, transfer container, work order and fill-point tag no longer trace cleanly to one product.
Precision lubrication
Why Bearings Run Hot After Greasing
Use the temperature slope, measurement quality, verified dose, delivery route and outlet condition to separate temporary grease redistribution from overfilling, blocked relief, product error or a developing mechanical fault.
Lubrication management
A Lubrication Schedule Is Not a Lubrication Program: A 90-Day Field Plan
A practical pilot for controlling lubricant identity, storage, application, sampling, task quality and exception closure across real operating shifts.
New field notes
Get one practical lubrication field note each month.
Clear guidance on lubrication, oil analysis and reliability improvement. No daily emails.
