Sampling is key: keeping your machinery fluids healthy for optimal performance

Ensuring your machinery stays hydrated and these fluids are healthy is key to ensuring its running at its best and giving you optimal performance.

Fluid sampling is a proactive maintenance process that involves analysing the condition of your equipment’s fluids, such as oil, coolant and hydraulic fluid. This process is a great predictive option to identify and address potential problems and avoid equipment failure, which can result in costly downtime and repairs.

So how does it work?

It’s as simple as 1,2,3:

1. Collect a sample of fluid from your equipment and send it to WesTrac for analysis.
2. We will test it for various contaminants, such as wear metals, dirt, water and coolant leakage to determine the condition of your equipment’s fluids.
3. We’ll consolidate our findings into a summarised report, providing a simple and easy-to-read health check, and recommendations for maintenance or repairs if they are needed.

Providing a good sample

Accurate reporting relies on a good fluid sample being provided for best possible interpretation, so it’s critical you purchase a sample kit which includes clear instructions on how to extract a fluid sample to minimise the risk of misdiagnosis or confusing results.

We know words on a page often doesn't cut it, so below is a short explainer from Roberto, our resident Team Next Gen expert. 

Reviewing results

You can access the Caterpillar® S.O.S Portal to review fluid analysis results and recommendations. You can also log maintenance events and actions taken and generate reports to keep on record. The added advantage of S.O.S is its seamless integration with other Cat applications and the FitFleet portal, delivering fluid sampling results where you need them.

So, what are you waiting for? Implement fluid sampling into your maintenance program now to help eliminate downtime and maximise productivity.