HOUSTON, Texas — Shell Lubricants has upgraded its LubeAnalyst oil analysis program with an online user interface that offers a worldwide sample history and failure trends on various types of equipment and engines. 

Shell officials say using oil analysis as preventive maintenance helps assess whether fluids and equipment are performing as intended, helping determine the appropriate change intervals for lubricants, while also making it possible to watch for trends in a variety of areas. 

The program’s software is designed to allow customers to view and track test results and view offline management information.

“Analyzing used engine oil after every oil change provides an early warning system that may ultimately help lower customers’ total cost of operations,” said Walt Silviera, North American technical manager for Shell Lubricants. “By leveraging the results of the Shell LubeAnalyst program, customers can identify equipment problems before major downtime or expensive maintenance is required.”

Used-oil samples provided through the Shell LubeAnalyst program are designed to reveal whether contaminants such as water, coolant, fuel or dirt are getting into the oil, indicating head-gasket leaks, leaking fuel injectors, or other problems, while spectrochemical analysis detects the presence of wear metals in the oil. The analysis also measures the oil’s viscosity, base number (reserve alkalinity), and fuel-soot level.