Tagged: reliability

What is Oil Analysis?

When we think about the various tools available to our maintenance team, we often think about physical tools such as a screwdriver, wrench or possibly even a hammer (if used in the right circumstances!). However, we don’t think about some of the methods we could employ which can make our maintenance teams more efficient or our equipment more reliable.

One such method is oil analysis and while it may not be at the forefront of our minds when thinking about increasing the reliability of the fleet, its impacts can be very significant once utilized properly. In this article, we will talk about the implementation of oil analysis for a mixed fleet of equipment, the impact of this program and the ways that the success of this method can be measured.

What Is Oil Analysis?

If you’ve ever drained the oil from the sump of a diesel engine, then you would know that it’s a messy process. Typically, when this oil is drained, the mechanic can tell you a few things about what happened on the inside of the engine without going to a lab.

For instance, some mechanics may place a magnet in a sealed bag and drop this into the drained oil. When they remove the bag, if there are metal filings stuck to the outside of the bag with the magnet, then that means there is some significant wear occurring on the inside of the engine. Similarly, if there is a tinge of a rainbow colour on the surface of the drained oil, that could mean that fuel is getting into the oil system and there may be an issue with one of the fuel injectors.

While these methods may not be able to precisely tell us how much fuel or wear (or what type of wear metal was present), they do provide some indications of what’s happening on the inside of the equipment. This is where oil analysis can be the game changer for our mechanics and our teams leading the reliability initiative.

With oil analysis, we can accurately and quantitatively trend the presence or absence of certain characteristics of the oil and what it contains. In this instance, we are able to correctly identify the wear metals present in the oil and trend whether these values increase or decrease over time. This can help our mechanics to figure out exactly where the wear is coming from as they would be able to identify the parts of the engine which are associated with the increase in the particular wear metal from the report.

Additionally, they can become more aware of other important parameters such as viscosity or TBN (Total Base Number) which they would not have been able to quantify without oil analysis. They can also get information on the decreases in additives or increases in contaminants which can allow them to identify or troubleshoot these issues in advance.

Benefits of Oil Consolidation

There are many benefits to the consolidation of lubricants, but here are a few that stand out:

Reduced Cost of Inventory

For warehouses that stock many types of lubricants, there is a cost attached to holding these high stock levels, especially when the lubricants will not be consumed as quickly. However, with a consolidated stock, these levels can deplete at a faster rate than the specialty one or two lubricants, which may be used occasionally by certain assets. This helps to reduce the overall holding cost of the stock.

Reduced Human Error

With lubricants from many different suppliers, it is very easy for someone to get confused and use the wrong lubricant in the wrong application. This can lead to unplanned downtime and a possible flush of the entire system, depending on the level of cross-contamination. However, with a consolidated stock, the risks associated with humans utilizing the wrong lubricant become minimized.

Reduced HSE Risks

When removing a drum of oil from storage, a forklift may be required (depending on the location). If there were different products from various suppliers, it may be difficult to access the ones needed or may require extra work to remove the additional drums from the other suppliers before the operators gain access to the lubricant they need. With a consolidated stock, it would be easier to access the lubricant needed, and there would be less risk associated with removing it from stock.

There are various types of handling procedures associated with the different lubricants. As such, more procedures will be involved for disposing and handling various oils. This can also increase the HSE risk if someone is not fully aware of how to handle specific lubricants. With a consolidated stock, the HSE personnel will not have as many procedures to be aware of when handling these lubricants.

Reduced Operational Costs

Personnel would no longer be required to handle all the invoicing and payments of several lubricant suppliers for the various brands. This will reduce the hours the accounting department spends on the necessary paperwork and bank transactions for several vendors. Additionally, warehouse personnel will not be tasked with receiving products several times a day from the various suppliers and producing the accompanying paperwork. This can reduce the overall operational costs.

There are many benefits to the consolidation of lubricants, especially in our facilities, but it begins with understanding if we are using them in the correct application or if we’re using an over-specified lubricant in a lower-tiered application. Auditing your facility will assist in making this process easier, as noted above. We all have our role to play in consolidating lubricants to ensure that we have a safer, more efficient plant.

References

ASQ. (2024, October 19). What are the Five S’s (5S) of Lean. Retrieved from American Society for Quality: https://asq.org/quality-resources/lean/five-s-tutorial

The Other S Factors: The 5S Methodology

The remaining 4 S factors can also be included in our journey to improve the overall quality of our approach to machinery lubrication. Once we have “Sorted” our lubricants by making sure we have what is necessary, we can move on to “Set these in order.”

In this step, we can ensure that all the types of lubricants are stored in a clean, dry, cool place away from water, direct sunlight, or drastic temperature changes. We can also observe the “FIFO” rules, where the first lubricant that enters the warehouse is also the first to leave and be used in the equipment. Additionally, we can have lists stating the assets in which the assigned oils are to be used and place matching tags on the equipment and dispensing containers to reduce mix-ups of the wrong lubricant being used.

The third “S” talks about “Shine,” which relates to keeping the work area clean. We can also apply this to our oils with the dispensing equipment, making sure we use clean, dedicated dispensing bottles, not the fancy, galvanized, open-top containers where someone showed off their welding skills. Those galvanized containers are huge sources of contamination, which will degrade our lubricants at a faster rate.

With the fourth “S”, the process of “Standardizing” is used. This was incorporated in the first “S” during our sorting session, where we grouped similar lubricants and standardized them for various applications.

The last “S” is to “Sustain” or make the 5S process a habit. This would involve performing audits every year to ascertain if any new lubricants entered the facility and if they, in turn, should be consolidated with others that perform the same function.

Let’s “Sort’ This Out: The 5S Methodology

When walking into many facilities, there are usually a lot of oil drums, buckets, or items used for lubrication scattered all over the facility. However, some facilities are fully equipped, nicely stocked, and have dedicated lube rooms. The first step in our process is determining what is needed and what is not.

In this case, the best place to start is with an inventory list developed by physically identifying the items on the plant. If this is the first time this exercise is being conducted, then it is critical to perform this check in person rather than rely on the information entered into the CMMS (if one exists). Sometimes, not all the information may have been captured in the CMMS when it was entered initially.

A good idea would be to divide the plant into various sections and perform your audit one section at a time. It would be ideal to note the following during your audit:

  • Name of the lubricant (for example, Turbo S4GX)
  • OEM (for example, Shell)
  • Viscosity grade (ISO 46)
  • Expiry date (use this opportunity to find out if you have expired lubricants in stock)
  • Quantity (use this opportunity to find out if the inventory levels are accurately reflected in your CMMS).

Armed with this information, we can correlate this to the equipment needing the associated lubricant. In this instance, we can compile an asset listing and assign which lubricants are used for the respective assets. With the asset listing, we should also identify the oil requirements for the specified component. This way, we can develop a table similar to Table 2 below.

Table 2: Sample table to compile asset and lubricant information
Table 2: Sample table to compile asset and lubricant information

With the information collected in Table 2, we can easily sort through the lubricants we have in use and match them back to the requirements of the assets. This is where we can identify if we have duplicated products or products that serve the same function but are represented by different brands. This is the beginning of the consolidation process.

If you enter this information electronically, it will be easy to sort. You can group similar applications together and then compare the application’s requirements to the current lubricant. This will help you determine if you are using a highly specialized lubricant for an ordinary application or if the incorrect lubricant was used from inception!

This exercise will be fundamental in gauging your lubrication requirements and then allow you to consolidate some of the lubricants in use. For instance, if there are five different applications of gear oil and many types of oil, we would need to determine if all the listed lubricants are entirely necessary. See Table 3 below and determine if we need these five types of gear oil.

Table 3: Listing of various gear oils and their assets
Table 3: Listing of various gear oils and their assets

We can begin with the types of oils listed; some have varying viscosities, while others are food grade, and the rest are not. We can include this in a summary table, as seen in Table 4:

Table 4: List of gear lubricants and their descriptions
Table 4: List of gear lubricants and their descriptions

Table 4 shows that GB 1005, GB-4005 & GB-4008 all require the same type of oil, a food-grade ISO 220 mineral gear oil. Then why do we have three different types of oils that match the exact description? We can consolidate this oil into just one food-grade ISO 220 mineral gear oil brand. Ideally, the choice will be based on the supplier relationship, the availability of the product, and other cost factors, including delivery to the site.

We can also see that GB-2009 and GB-3003 require a non-food grade ISO 460 oil; however, one is synthetic, and the other is mineral. In this case, we can review our asset specifications and determine if a synthetic was required or if a mineral oil is preferred for these applications.

In this case, we could be using a higher-specification product and paying a lot more when the asset does not require it. This decision could have occurred in the past when synthetic oil was the only available grade of oil for that component, and it was ordered from the supplier to keep the plant running. However, if we consolidate these two, then we could go with a regular mineral non-food grade ISO 460 oil for both applications.

By understanding our applications and where we’re using these oils, we’ve just cut down our list of 5 gear lubricants to 2 gear lubricants! These will be much easier to manage in our inventory than keeping track and ordering from 5 different suppliers.

Additionally, your staff will have less to worry about as they know which specific oil is for the ISO 220 grades and which one is for the ISO 460 grades, making it less complicated and reducing some human errors.

Oil Consolidation Reimagined: The 5S Method for Smarter Lubrication Practices

When we walk into a pharmacy, there are thousands of items. Some of them do the same job but have different names and price points, while others are specialty items designed to solve a particular problem at a slightly elevated price point. Some of these may not be readily available in all pharmacies. Machinery lubricants adopt a similar type of pattern.

There are various OEMs on the market that all produce finished lubricants. Some of the majors are Shell lubricants, ExxonMobil, Total, and Castrol, while there are other niche producers who handle very specific markets. Like the pharmacy, where numerous choices solve the same issue, we have machinery lubricants from different suppliers who meet most of the standard specifications or specialty-grade products.

Each supplier will have a proprietary blend that comes from an invested amount of Research and Development into their product to produce something that meets international equipment specifications and regulatory standards.

Does this mean that one product is better than the other, or does it mean that all hydraulic oils (for instance) are the same? This depends on the application.

The hydraulic oil used to top up the compactor of a garbage truck with several leaks will not be the same hydraulic oil that we use for a critical hydraulic system in a power plant, which requires fire-resistant oil. We can also compare the engine oil used for a 40-year-old regular car to that of the engine oil used in a McLaren race car on race day.

Different applications have varying risks associated with them, as well as performance expectations; this is what sets certain lubricants apart.

The 5S Methodology

While some may be familiar with the 5S methodology of lean principles, this may be the first time others have heard of its existence. In essence, these principles help to maintain quality standards within the workplace. As per (ASQ, 2024), 5S is a quality tool derived from 5 Japanese terms used to create a workplace suited for visual control and lean production. The 5 pillars and their translations are listed in Table 1 below.

Table 1: 5S definitions (ASQ, 2024)
Table 1: 5S definitions (ASQ, 2024)

We can use these principles to adopt a leaner approach to lubricant consolidation in our facilities. This way, we ensure that our operators have a clean, manageable workplace when handling lubricants. The 5S method can give us a better overall view of what happens in our lubricant storage areas.

Storage and Handling & Advancements in Hydraulic oils

Hydraulic systems have smaller clearances than many. As such, it is imperative that these oils be kept clean and free from any debris. Most hydraulic components have a required ISO 4406 rating that should be met to ensure that the oils do not allow foreign particles to enter as these can easily clog the clearances and cause the system to stop working.

Chevron Lubricants produced a document that compiles some ISO 4406 codes for various types of industrial off highway equipment, which also includes the hydraulic standards. It noted the recommended ISO Cleanliness for John Deere hydraulic Excavators can be ≤23/21/16, this can be found here (Chevron Lubricants, 2015).

Hydraulic oils should be pre-filtered before being placed in your equipment even though there are filters on the inside of the equipment by reducing the amount of contamination entering the system from the onset, you can ensure a longer life for your hydraulic oil. Hydraulic oils should also be stored in closed containers not those that are left open to the atmosphere!

Advancements in Hydraulic Oils

According to (Fitzpatrick & Thom, 2021), the hydraulic oil market was approximately worth USD 77.5 billion by the end of 2021. Mobile hydraulics account for 65% of the market while industrial equipment represents 35% of the market. Clearly, the larger market share exists for mobile hydraulics. However, OEMs are also moving towards smaller oil sumps with longer oil drain intervals that can impact on the volume of hydraulics needed periodically.

Changes by OEMs also impact the formulation of hydraulic oils. For instance, if a smaller sump is used then, the hydraulic oil must now be able to cool faster, transport the same (or larger) force and maintain the intended viscosity of operation while being under greater stress. In these cases, the additive packages involving the antiwear, thermal stability, viscosity index improvers, defoamants and dispersants must be formulated to work in unison without compromising the other.

There have been changes in additive technology that allow for larger tolerances for various characteristics but while additives are evolving, the refining of base oils is also trying to keep up. With all of these evolutions, the chemical composition of hydraulic oil today vastly differs from one created in the 1950s. The requirements of hydraulic oil have also greatly evolved, forcing these changes in formulation.

Hydraulic oils today need to provide longer oil drain intervals, better stick/slip characteristics, increased efficiency, improved conductivity and wear performance and an added level of sustainability. Formulators need to create hydraulic oils that can adhere to these characteristics while also not infringing on regulatory requirements. This makes hydraulic oils one of the most powerful types of oils because they must conform to these requirements while also transferring force from one place to another.

References

Chevron Lubricants. (2015, January 24). Chevron Lubricants Latin America. Retrieved from Chevron Lubricants: https://latinamerica.chevronlubricants.com

Fitzpatrick, A., & Thom, M. (2021, November 08). How the Global Hydraulic Fluid Market Is Changing—And What It Means for the Future. Retrieved from Power Transmission Engineering: https://www.powertransmission.com/blogs/1-revolutions/post/189

Mang, T., & Dresel, W. (2007). Lubricants and Lubrication Second Edition. Weinheim: WILEY-VCH.

Pirro, D. M., Webster, M., & Daschner, E. (2016). Lubrication Fundamentals, Third Edition Revised and Expanded, ExxonMobil. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.

Are Consolidation and Cheaper Hydraulic Oils Worthwhile Considerations?

Given the various types of hydraulic oils that exist, can they all be consolidated into one hydraulic oil that can serve the purpose for all the applications? The short answer is no, the longer answer is that if there is overlap among OEM recommendations within the same viscosity, then there is a possibility of consolidation. Typically, OEMs will provide guidelines on the oils recommended for use and they should be sought out for these consolidations as they will be more familiar with compatibility issues, as well.

On the other hand, it may mean that the hydraulic storage area of the warehouse has numerous hydraulic oils. In this case, a proper labelling system should be in place to ensure that the correct oil gets to the right location. Since these are specialized, using an incorrect oil (or an oil that does not meet the right specification) can result in disastrous outcomes for the equipment especially for compatibility challenges.

One of the most common issues with hydraulic equipment is the existence of leaks. Depending on the application, some owners prefer not to fix the leaks and use cheap hydraulic oil to keep the equipment working. However, this is not the best practice.

When hydraulic oil leaks out into the environment, this can be hazardous to the people on the site (spills or trips), equipment (skids or contamination) and the environment since it was not disposed of properly. By using cheap oil, this can also damage the equipment even more as that oil may not meet the OEM requirements. In these cases, more harm is being done to the environment and the equipment and there can be significant losses financially and operationally.

This is where the quality of the oil and operations (no leaks) can trump quantity (excess volumes of cheaper oil). Unless the leaks are fixed, then the volume of cheaper oil will continue to increase and there will be additional labour costs to constantly maintain the sump levels as well as delays to the project.

Therefore, the overall impact on the efficiency of the hydraulic equipment will be reduced. However, if the leaks are fixed and a quality hydraulic oil is used, then the machine can operate more efficiently, complete the assigned projects and possibly even reduce extra labour costs related to maintenance.

Ideally, consolidation can be achieved as long as the OEM requirements are being fulfilled. However, cheaper oil that does not meet the required OEM standard for a particular piece of equipment is not an ideal option as it can cause more harm than good in the long run.

Are There Different Types of Hydraulic Oils?

Similar to there being endless types of greases, there are also many types of hydraulic oils specifically designed for certain systems. Hydraulics comprise of lots of different operations as such, they will be called upon to perform in various applications. Some of these can include being fire resistant, biodegradable or even being able to also act as an engine oil. These properties can be influenced by the type of base oil used to produce these oils. For example, fire resistant or rapidly biodegradable fluids or even specialty hydraulic fluids can use PAOs (Polyalphaolefins), PAGs (Polyalkylglycols), POE (ester oils) or other synthetic oils as their base oil.

As per (Mang & Dresel, 2007), hydraulics require special types of additives for their applications. The most important additives for hydraulic oils are:

Surface active additives – For hydraulic oils these can be rust inhibitors, metal deactivators, wear inhibitors, friction modifiers, detergents / dispersants, etc.

Base Oil active additives” – For hydraulic oils, these can be antioxidants, defoamers, VI Improvers, Pourpoint improvers, etc.

Typically, the additives for hydraulic oils can be broadly classed into those which contain zinc and ash and those which do not. Zinc and Ash free oils can represent 20-30% of hydraulic oils on the market and are used for specialty applications where the presence of zinc or ash can hamper the functionality of the equipment.

One such example is the use of these oils in the JCB Fastrac 3000 series for the hydraulic oils. These systems contain yellow metals which can be easily degraded with the presence of zinc or the filterability of the oil can be impacted due to the presence of water. Hence, zinc and ash free oils must be used in these instances.

The following shows a chart of the types of hydraulic fluids as per (Mang & Dresel, 2007) broken down by hydrokinetic applications, hydrostatic applications and mobile systems.

Figure 1: Classifications of hydraulic fluids as per (Mang & Dresel, 2007) Chapter 11, figure 11.9.
Figure 1: Classifications of hydraulic fluids as per (Mang & Dresel, 2007) Chapter 11, figure 11.9.

As seen above, there are many different classifications of hydraulic oils. To provide some clarification on the symbols used in DIN 51 502 and ISO 6743/4, (Mang & Dresel, 2007) produced this table.

Figure 2: Classification of mineral oil-based hydraulic fluids as per (Mang & Dresel, 2007), Chapter 11, Table 11.3.
Figure 2: Classification of mineral oil-based hydraulic fluids as per (Mang & Dresel, 2007), Chapter 11, Table 11.3.

When looking at hydraulic oil classifications, these categories will come up and it is important to be able to understand what each of these mean as well as how it translates to your system. Typically, the most common are the ISO HM and ISO HV.

The ISO HM refers to oils with improved anti-wear properties used in general hydraulic systems with highly loaded components and where there is a need for good water separation operating in the range of -20 to 90°C.

The ISO HV oils are HM oils with additives that improve viscosity-temperature behavior. Ideally, these are used in environments that experience significant changes in temperatures, such as construction or marine, between the ranges of -35 to 120°C.

What Are The Functions of Hydraulic Oils?

Hydraulic oils today need to provide longer oil drain intervals, better stick/slip characteristics, increased efficiency, improved conductivity and wear performance and an added level of sustainability.

Hydraulic oils are used in many areas of our life, from the telescopic booms of cranes to the control valves in a tractor. These oils are special as they perform a particular function which is unique to them. In addition to the regular functions of an oil, hydraulic oils can transmit power which truly sets them apart. In this article, we will take a deeper dive into the world of hydraulic oils, how they can be used, ways that they should be stored and handled and of course some advancements that we’ve seen over the years.

What Are The Functions of Hydraulic Oils?

Before going any further, we must understand how hydraulic oils function and the impact that they create for our equipment. As per (Pirro, Webster, & Daschner, 2016), the concept of hydraulics revolves around the transmission of force from one point to another where the fluid is the transmitter of this force. Ideally, this is based off Pascal’s Law where, “The pressure applied to a confined fluid is transmitted undiminished in all directions and acts with equal force and at right angles to them.”

As applied to hydraulic oils, once a force is exerted on an oil, the oil can transmit this force to either help an actuator turn or stop an excavator from moving (through braking). This is the transmission of pressure, but hydraulic oils can also provide the functions of reduced wear, prevention of rust and corrosion, reduction in wear and friction and an overall improvement in system efficiency.

For anyone who has worked with hydraulic oils, they will be familiar with the fact that these oils have very tight clearances which requires them to be clean. As they are transmitting power through the fluid, having clean hydraulic oil is essential, so this flow is not disrupted. Since the force will be the same throughout the lubricant, having these tighter clearances allows for more force to be output per square area at the intended target without the contaminants.

Overall, hydraulics will perform the regular functions of an oil but with the added benefit of the transmission of force for these applications. But not all hydraulic oils are created equally and some need to be specifically designed for particular applications within our industry.

The Hybrid approach – Sensors & Labs

By Sanya Mathura (Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd) & Neil Conway (Spectrolytic)

The above offers some advantages of using these inline sensors but what really sets the FluidInspectIR apart?

Historical inline sensors have employed dielectric or impedance-based sensing. Impedance based sensing is slightly more advanced than dielectric sensing but still only measures a few electrical parameters such as oil resistance, capacitance and inductance which assist in detecting the polar molecules in the oil.

However, complex algorithms are usually used to convert the electrical data into a meaningful value such as TBN or develop a trend based on a dimensionless value. Laboratories use MIR Spectroscopy which is the same technology utilized by FluidInspectIR. As such, the data / results are given in the same units and accuracy as labs.

The FluidInspectIR technology analyses the spectra in the wavelength ranges which have a chemical meaning for the application in which the sensor is being used, such as turbine oils, EALs, gear oils, engine oils etc. This specificity in the MIR spectrum, coupled with several mechanical and electrical design features allow lab accuracy in the field.

Figure 4: Market validation and asset examples
Figure 4: Market validation and asset examples

The Hybrid approach

While the FluidInspectIR Inline sensors can provide actionable data required for preventive maintenance strategies, there are some parameters where a lab analysis would certainly be advisable. These are more specialized tests such as Air separation / Demulsibility or FZG loading tests which require some fairly complexed processes in which the oil has to stand for some time during the procedure or different loads have to be added until a particular characteristic is met.

With that being said, inline OCM technology has made significant advancements and the FluidInspectIR is currently considered state of the art providing lab equivalent data in real time. In addition, it is also capable of measuring nonstandard properties, such as oxidation by-products which can relate to varnish by-products or the potential to form varnish as well as monitor the quantity of antioxidants. The monitoring of these parameters could not have been done a decade ago as the technology simply wasn’t available.

The future of oil analysis will certainly be a hybrid approach where inline sensors continuously monitor the fundamental parameters and when limits are reached (either below or above), or the trending analysis shows a peculiar behavior, then specialized additional testing can be pursued using the lab infrastructure and expertise.

In this way, resources are conserved when the oil appears to be within its limits and functioning as it should. However, when these limits are reached and the component could be in danger, specialized resources will be deployed to ensure that the component does not suffer a fatality. The way forward for oil analysis is definitely a hybrid approach mixing the traditional with some of the cutting-edge technologies.

Bio:

Neil Conway – Applications Manager, Spectrolytic

Neil is the Applications manager for Spectrolytic where he develops and manages new and current measurement applications for all the product lines. Neil is also extensively involved in sensor characterisation, product development, customer training, and technical marketing.

Previously Neil has held Process Engineering positions in semiconductors with Motorola and Atmel and operated as Wafer Fabrication Manager with IR Sensor company Pyreos where he developed and commercialised the first thin film PZT IR sensor manufacturing line.

Neil is a chartered Engineer (CEng) and Scientist (CSci) and corporate member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (MIChemE) and holds a BEng (Hons) in Chemical & Process Engineering from Strathclyde University.

Bio:

Sanya Mathura, REng, MLE

Founder, Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd

Sanya Mathura is a highly accomplished professional in the field of engineering and reliability, with a proven track record of success in providing solutions to complex problems in various industries. She is currently the Managing Director of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd, a leading consulting firm that specializes in helping clients improve their asset reliability and maintenance practices.

Sanya holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering as well as a Masters in Engineering Asset Management from The University of the West Indies and has over 15 years of experience in the industry. She has worked with several well-known companies and has been recognized for her exceptional work in the field of reliability and lubrication engineering. Her expertise in developing and implementing asset management strategies, risk assessments, and root cause analysis has earned her a reputation as a subject matter expert.

As the head of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd, Sanya leads a team of highly skilled professionals who provide a wide range of services to clients across various industries, including oil and gas, manufacturing, and transportation. Under her leadership, the company has expanded its services and is now recognized as a leading provider of reliability engineering services in the industry across the globe.

In addition to her work at Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd, Sanya is an active member of several professional organizations, including the International Council for Machinery Lubrication and writes technical papers for several organizations. She is also a sought-after speaker and has presented at various conferences and seminars on the topics of reliability engineering and lubrication. She is also an avid advocate for women in STEM.