AI and Machine Learning for industrial reliability

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Maintenance technician taking a representative oil sample from rotating equipment

Services · Fluid and wear condition

Oil analysis

Oil analysis uses representative samples to assess lubricant or insulating-fluid condition, contamination, and equipment wear indicators.

STAHOILFLUID EVIDENCE
Maintenance technician taking a representative oil sample from rotating equipment
Field execution and diagnostic evidence
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What the service evaluates

The field questions this service is built to answer.

  • Viscosity and fluid condition
  • Water, particles, and contamination
  • Wear debris and elemental trends
  • Transformer dissolved-gas or insulating-fluid indicators

Inside the engagement

What happens before, during, and after the site visit.

A focused service should answer a defined technical question, not merely produce readings. Good execution preserves operating context, measurement settings, limitations, and the chain of reasoning from observation to recommendation.

For oil analysis, that means beginning with viscosity and fluid condition, working in the context of gearboxes and circulating systems, and preserving enough evidence to support laboratory result summary.

Field-use caution

A field measurement is evidence, not an automatic diagnosis. Access, loading, configuration, history, and complementary checks determine what the result can support.

Typical service workflow

The field-service route.

The exact visit changes with the equipment and access, but the control points stay recognizable. Open a stage for more detail.

  1. Select a representative sampling point and interval for Oil analysis
    01

    Select a representative sampling point and interval

    Open detail
  2. Collect, label, and handle samples consistently for Oil analysis
    02

    Collect, label, and handle samples consistently

    Open detail
  3. Choose tests aligned to the asset and question for Oil analysis
    03

    Choose tests aligned to the asset and question

    Open detail
  4. Interpret results with history, top-up, and operating context for Oil analysis
    04

    Interpret results with history, top-up, and operating context

    Open detail
DELIVERABLES

Typical deliverables

  • Laboratory result summary
  • Trend and exception interpretation
  • Probable contamination or wear source
  • Resample, filter, inspect, or repair recommendation
APPLICATIONS

Common applications

  • Gearboxes and circulating systems
  • Compressors and turbines
  • Hydraulic systems
  • Power transformers

Behind each reading

What the field team is doing while the instrument collects data.

Preparation, safe access, repeatability, context, and technical review make a measurement useful.

  1. 01

    Select a representative sampling point and interval

    Primary focus: Viscosity and fluid condition. Expected record: Laboratory result summary. Typical setting: Gearboxes and circulating systems.

  2. 02

    Collect, label, and handle samples consistently

    Primary focus: Water, particles, and contamination. Expected record: Trend and exception interpretation. Typical setting: Compressors and turbines.

  3. 03

    Choose tests aligned to the asset and question

    Primary focus: Wear debris and elemental trends. Expected record: Probable contamination or wear source. Typical setting: Hydraulic systems.

  4. 04

    Interpret results with history, top-up, and operating context

    Primary focus: Transformer dissolved-gas or insulating-fluid indicators. Expected record: Resample, filter, inspect, or repair recommendation. Typical setting: Power transformers.

Service record

What should appear in a complete field record.

  • The asset, audience, or system boundary and the decision being supported
  • The relevant operating state, access conditions, source records, and known limitations
  • The observations or results related to water, particles, and contamination
  • The comparison, technical reasoning, confidence, priority, and alternative explanations
  • The owner, timing, verification method, and trigger for escalation or follow-up

Analyst review

What gets challenged before the report is issued.

  • Was the evidence collected under a representative and documented condition?
  • Does another indicator support—or conflict with—the first conclusion?
  • Could access, setup, data quality, environment, or operating state explain the result?
  • Is the proposed action proportionate to condition, consequence, and uncertainty?
  • What new evidence would confirm that the action worked?
FIELD NOTE
Poor sampling can create a precise laboratory result that does not represent the machine.

Start a conversation

Talk with STAH about oil analysis.

Share the asset, operating concern, data opportunity, or reliability goal. STAH can help shape a focused, human-reviewed next step.