Failure Mode and Effect Analysis and Why It Should Be Considered When Establishing a Condition Monitoring Program and Writing ASTM Test Methods

Abstract

Following the decision to implement a lubricant condition monitoring program, a test protocol needs to be put in place. Some tests such as wear metal determination or oil viscosity are needed for most machines. Other possible tests may not be as obvious. Practitioners may consider soliciting recommendations from a test laboratory or consulting an industry benchmark standard such as ASTM D6224, Standard Practice for In-Service Monitoring of Lubricating Oil for Auxiliary Power Plant Equipment, which provides recommendations in a tabular format. Although both of these options may yield a quality condition monitoring program, it is likely that neither would result in an optimal lubricant testing program. The best program would be one that used tests that pertained to how the machine fails, have early failure detection capability, and allow for monitoring failure progression. Performing a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) results in an understanding of how a machine fails and how well lubricant analysis can be expected to identify a particular failure mode. This understanding can also be leveraged into the selection of a particular method over other similar methodologies. This may also be useful when determining how often to perform the test. ASTM has developed a series of standards that detail the application of the FMEA lubricant analysis condition monitoring and testing process.