Techenomics International

Techenomics International liquid assets

Chris Adsett, CEO, and Jason Davis, Australian Operations Manager for Techenomics International, tell Martin Ashcroft how they help customers extend the life and improve the efficiency of their equipment

Mining is a capital intensive business and in order to maximise their returns on investment, miners continually strive to improve the performance of their machinery and equipment. Downtime is expensive, not only for the intrinsic cost of maintenance or repairs, but the consequential loss from a piece of machinery being taken out of production.

Techenomics International, a company specialising in condition monitoring and fluid analysis, is dedicated to helping its customers maximise equipment performance by resolving lubrication problems. “We’ve been in business for thirty odd years,” says CEO Chris

“When we do somebody’s fluid analysis, we look to provide them with a total end result – a potential solution or a sign-off ”

Adsett. “Our core business is condition monitoring, based on oil analysis and fluid analysis.” Condition monitoring and fluid analysis help miners optimise asset performance and consequently save money, by highlighting lubrication problems which can cause equipment to underperform or even fail altogether. Oil analysis provides a detailed picture of the lubricant’s properties, including measurements of any suspended contaminants and wear debris. The oil carries tell-tale signs of potential problems or failures, but so too do the coolant, grease and fuels. Techenomics uses a number of testing methods and procedures to analyse these lubricants. Performed during routine preventive maintenance, this kind of analysis provides accurate information on the condition of the machine. Huge amounts of money can be saved by reducing downtime and diverting resources to other, more pressing maintenance requirements. To maximise the potential of condition monitoring and fluid analysis, however, you must provide more than a simple

techenomics international liquid assets

set of results. If you can interpret them and offer solutions, you can help the customer understand what to do next. “Traditionally, an oil analysis laboratory will produce a pathology report,” says Adsett, just like when you have a blood test. We put a lot of emphasis on the interpretation of those results, because nobody has a blood test for the sake of doing it. You’re looking for a maintenance platform, either in the human body or with your machinery. So, it’s the interpretation that’s important, rather than just handing the results over.” To evaluate an oil sample, Techenomics’ laboratory chemists investigate and report on the lubricant’s fundamentals and ability to perform its duties. Results and comments are then viewed by the chief chemist and evaluated by the mechanical failure analysis team. Once they are in agreement, a report is sent to the client via email. This is then uploaded to the company proprietary online software platform, Blue Oceans, where clients can view historical data anytime they like. The combination of the laboratory chemists and the knowledge of the maintenance engineers provides clients with highly detailed insight information into the sample results that can reduce

“We analyse the sample to detect things like the wear of metals and the depletion of additives”

downtime on their equipment, achieve a higher and more effective availability rate and save companies huge amounts of money.

Blue Oceans

In their classic book, Blue Ocean Strategy, published in 2004, Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne coined the terms ’red ocean’ and ‘blue ocean’ to describe market dynamics. Blue ocean strategy is characterised as the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost, to open up a new market space and create new demand, making the competition irrelevant. “We named our online platform, Blue Oceans, after that,” says Adsett. “McDonalds is often quoted as an example of Blue Ocean Strategy. It’s low cost and universal, and it gives an ordinary person the opportunity to have a restaurant experience at a much lower cost than a traditional restaurant. “Our Blue Oceans software program provides a marketplace where we combine the equivalent of a physiotherapist, a specialist, a GP and the pathology laboratory all in one. When we do somebody’s fluid analysis, we look to provide them with a total end result. We use the oil analysis or the fluid analysis data but provide a potential solution or a sign-off. “Most customers send samples in, then we do the analysis and provide them with their data on the Blue Oceans software, which is interactive. They can log on, they can look at the entire history, they do a bit of analytics. It’s continually being updated. At the moment it’s on the Microsoft Azure platform and we’re adding bells and whistles on it for continuous improvement all the time.” The standard oil sample size is only about 100ml. “We analyse the sample to detect things like the wear of metals and the depletion of additives,” says Jason Davis, Operations Manager for Australia. “As these wear off the quality of the oil deteriorates. We also test viscosity, which is the thickness of the

lubricant. Then there are particles in the oil, so we measure particle size and shape. There’s quite a lot involved.” Techenomics can customise the package to suit customer requirements. “They’re not always the same,” explains Davis. “It depends on the equipment and what they’re monitoring.” Another development has been a customer trend towards predictive maintenance. “Preventative maintenance has been around a long time,” says Davis, “but people are moving towards predictive maintenance now. We’re trying to establish predictive methods so we can predict failures before they happen. “We can already do that to a certain extent,” he adds. “When it comes to water and fuel dilution. That obviously gives some prior warning that something is going to happen, but when it comes to component replacement, that’s what we’re looking to achieve in the future.”

Liquid tungsten

Another component in the company’s portfolio comes in the shape of the nano additive tungsten disulphide (WS2), sometimes called liquid tungsten. Added to a lubricant, the nano particles roll between the metal surfaces of engines, components and hydraulic equipment like tiny ball bearings, reducing friction by up to 30 per cent.

“When you put liquid tungsten into the lubricant it reduces the friction within the component by coating the metal surfaces and ensuring they don’t come into contact with each other. In our results we can actually see the iron drop a minimum of about 25 per cent. Some of our customers have temperature sensors on their equipment, and after the liquid tungsten has been added, the temperature drops by around 18 per cent”

Lower wear leads to longer component life and lower operating temperatures, allowing for greater productivity, while lower contaminants extend oil life. WS2 additives, manufactured by US company NIS, are available through Techenomics to suit mining, construction, industrial, energy generation, marine and transport purposes. There are WS2 additives to suit most oils and fluids, including engine oils, gear oils and greases. “We have the distribution rights for WS2 in Australia and for mining globally,” says Davis. “We’re still doing trials to find where its capabilities end. So far they seem endless. The idea of the liquid tungsten is that you put it into the lubricant and it reduces the friction within the component by coating the metal surfaces and ensuring they don’t come into contact with each other. In our results we can actually see the iron drop a minimum of about 25 per cent. Some of our customers have temperature sensors on their equipment, and after the liquid tungsten has been added, the temperature drops by around 18 per cent.” Followers of Formula One may remember advertising for a similar lubricant last season, manufactured by a German company. The additive in that case was molybdenum disulphide (MOS2), abbreviated to liquid moly.

“Molybdenum and tungsten are somewhat similar, except that tungsten is a superior material in terms of heat transfer and metal wear,” says Chris Adsett. “It’s suitable for a large mine truck engine, it’s suitable for gearboxes, it’s suitable for the crushing circuit, for power station gearboxes, all sorts of things where you have lubricants, where there’s a level of wear, where you can reduce the wear, reduce the temperature. Oil lasts longer, components last longer and you reduce costs.”

Potential

The company has traditionally focused on the mining industry, but its reach stretches further. “The type of equipment employed varies from sector to sector and from mine to mine,” says Jason Davis, “but our customers include anyone who uses high volumes of oil. We recently acquired a large contract with a bus company which has a fleet of about 2000 buses. It can be anything from locomotives to tug boats,

techenomics international liquid assets

“Molybdenum and tungsten are somewhat similar, but tungsten is a superior material in terms of heat transfer and metal wear”

passenger cars up to mining equipment, drag lines or large ships.” The company has been spreading geographically, too, over the last few years. “We’re very well represented in Australasia and we’re now operating in

South East Asia, Northern Asia and are just beginning to open up in Africa,” says Adsett. “We’ve got three labs in Indonesia because we’re trying to service different mining areas, so we’ve got a lab in each one for a faster turnaround. “We’re currently talking to a large OEM with operations in Russia,” he continues. “They’re unhappy with their current provider and we’re talking about them sending their samples to us either in Mongolia or Thailand and then we’ll provide them with their service online. So we don’t necessarily need to be down the road. The closer we are, obviously, the faster the turnaround. We aim at a one to two day turnaround but if it takes us a day or two to get the sample it means turnaround time’s a little bit longer. “So the message is, we are very active in the fluid analysis, condition monitoring space, we’ve been there a long time and we’re developing new online tools to enable the customer to get more than just a set of results.”