Displaying items by tag: WearCheck News

Join us at Electra Mining 2018.

Electra Mining – Africa’s largest mining, industrial, construction and electrical trade show takes place from 10 – 14 September 2018 at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.

Come and learn more about oil analysis and the latest condition monitoring techniques, and how our services can provide you with an outstanding return on investment!

Our technical and sales teams will be on hand to offer you advice in Hall 6 Stand K10.

Click here to register online for your complimentary entrance http://www.tisevents.co.za/Event/EMA/Default.aspx?id=3620

WearCheck’s newest laboratory is officially open in southern Namibia, bringing to 16 the number of laboratories that we operate in nine countries around Africa and beyond.

Situated at Skorpion Zinc mine near Rosh Pinah, the new lab is strategically placed to answer a growing call for world class condition monitoring services in the region, particularly in the burgeoning mining and construction industries.

The lab is open to any industry requiring used oil analysis and other reliability solutions services.  It is fully equipped with the latest instruments and technology and is backed by its own uninterrupted power supply. To enable maintenance managers to make quick decisions, the lab offers 24-hour sample turnaround time.

A second Namibian WearCheck laboratory has provided condition monitoring services to the Husab Uranium Project since 2016.  Swakop Uranium, owners of the mining operation, awarded WearCheck a contract to supply and operate an on-site laboratory.

WearCheck MD Neil Robinson is determined to make world class condition monitoring services as accessible as possible to industrial operations on the African continent. ‘The learning curve for equipping and operating a remote laboratory has been a steep one, however every project is a learning experience and with each new laboratory, the implementation process is bettered.

‘As industry needs evolve, we are constantly redesigning our labs to present reliability solutions in areas which previously seemed almost impossible to imagine having a world-class laboratory present.’

Offering a wide range of condition monitoring services for the mining sector - including used oil analysis - WearCheck Namibia is available for use by other industries, such as quarrying, industrial, transport, power generation and shipping operations.

In addition to two in Namibia, WearCheck’s labs can be found in South Africa (six), Zambia (two) and one each in Zimbabwe, DRC, Mozambique, Ghana, Dubai and India.

WearCheck Namibia is situated at Skorpion Zinc mine site, about 25km north of the town of Rosh Pinah and can be contacted via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone +264 81 229-6926.

WearCheck Namibia is open for business! Laboratory manager Leandra Smith is standing by to process used oil samples and other condition monitoring services for industrial operations in the southern Namibia region.

The instruments for WearCheck’s newest laboratory are carefully packed and secured before transportation from Durban to Namibia. Diagnostic manager John Evans (left) and laboratory manager Meshach Govender conduct a final inspection before the boxes left Durban.

Dennis Swanepoel of WearCheck’s reliability solutions division in Johannesburg was invited to present two papers to delegates in Antwerp, Belgium, who were attending the latest IMVAC (International Machine Vibration Analysis and Condition Monitoring Conference) this month.

WearCheck MD Neil Robinson says the company is proud of Dennis. ‘When our technicians gain international recognition in professional circles, it reinforces our position as global leaders in the condition monitoring arena.  It is a real honour for Dennis to have been invited to present at IMVAC – well done Dennis!’

Dennis’s first paper, titled ‘Tried and Tested Tube Mill Monitoring’, focused on tube mills used for coal milling in the power generation industry.

In a mill, the drive train typically consists of a motor (>2MW), a gearbox (>8ton) and a girth gear(>7meter), all driving a tube mill with a >70ton ball load. Power generation losses typically amount to 135MW if the mill is shut down unexpectedly.

With more than 10 years of experience in the field of tube milling applications, Dennis was able to discuss various special methods in the fields of oil analysis, vibration analysis, advanced signal processing, operational deflection shape analysis, thermal analysis and operational visual inspections.

Paper two was called ‘Is Video Amplification Real?’ The analysis of two case studies was discussed, where video amplification was used, and this data was then compared to traditional operational deflection shape analysis.

Examining the two cases, a correlation between the two technologies was evident, and the different merits of each technology was discussed.

Dennis elaborates, ‘I shared all my experience obtained during the data collection processes, to help other aspiring condition monitoring technicians know what to expect, and how to make an informed choice of technology to address specific condition monitoring problems. ‘

Caption: Dennis Swanepoel of WearCheck’s reliability solutions division was invited to present two papers to delegates at IMVAC in Belgium last week.

Customers in many corners of Africa have signed up for WearCheck training recently, to enhance their investment in their condition monitoring programme.

Technical manager Steven Lumley conducted training for engine manufacturer Cummins recently.

The training for Cummins, which took place at the Cummins South Africa training facility in Johannesburg, was customised especially for the customer.  Topics included an introduction to oils, additives, application storage, the tests performed and the relevance of each one, and well as the interpretation of test results.

Cummins develops engines for specialist applications such as on highway, off highway and marine. Engaging the best possible methods for keeping the engines running at optimum output is of great value, therefore WearCheck training is an important part of the maintenance strategy.

A team from engine manufacturers Cummins recently underwent condition monitoring training by WearCheck’s technical manager Steven Lumley (third from left)

Members of the International WearCheck Group (IWCG) get together each year in a different member country to share ideas about the latest technological innovations, discuss new condition monitoring trends, learn about new laboratory practices and instruments and to keep the international WearCheck business network going. 

Seoul - the beautiful capital city of South Korea – was the venue for this year’s IWCG conference in July. 

WearCheck MD Neil Robinson (back row, fifth from left), along with delegates from Canada, USA, Hungary, UK and Argentina attended the 2018 International WearCheck Group (IWCG) meeting in Seoul, South Korea in July.

Diagnostician Ashley Mayer has re-joined the team of diagnosticians at WearCheck’s head office in Pinetown.

Ashley, originally a Durbanite, holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a national certificate in Datametrics and has completed an Advanced Business Programme.

His career kicked off in Durban as a mechanical engineer for Chempute, after which he joined the WearCheck team as a diagnostician for four years. A stint at ABB as a tribologist was followed by five years in the USA with the Noria Corporation, finishing up as director of Applications Engineering.

In 2009, Ashley returned to WearCheck as senior technical consultant in Johannesburg, which was followed by two years as manager of the Speciality Laboratory and three years as the company’s training manager. He travelled far and wide running technical training courses for WearCheck customers throughout Africa and beyond.

This year, Durban extends a warm ‘welcome home’ to Ashley. Throughout his career, Ashely has presented several papers at conferences, and has had many of his condition monitoring articles published in professional publications. He has won two gold awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

WearCheck provides condition monitoring services to many sectors, some of which are highly specialised.

One of WearCheck’s long-standing customers in the aviation arena is Honeywell Aerospace - a global company that invents and manufactures technologies that address some of the world’s most critical challenges around energy, safety, security, productivity and global urbanisation. 

Honeywell ‘s SOAP (spectrometric oil analysis program) laboratory engineer Perry Rexroad, from Phoenix Arizona, recently visited WearCheck’s Pinetown laboratory to conduct an audit of the process of preparing the oil filters for analysis as well as laboratory instrument accuracy.

For more than 20 years, WearCheck has analysed oil samples and filters from Honeywell’s aircraft components, and our diagnosticians have based their maintenance recommendations on these results.

As this work is unique and specialised, Honeywell requires that our diagnosticians are specifically trained and certified to diagnose their samples, and that they undergo regular assessment to earn re-certification.

During the audit, WearCheck’s three existing Honeywell diagnosticians (Daan Burger, Ravi Chetty and Steven Lumley) were successfully re-certified, and Ashley Mayer, the newest member of the diagnostic team, also received his Honeywell certification.

Aerospace audit: Perry Rexroad (left) of Honeywell in the USA conducted an audit in WearCheck’s Pinetown laboratory recently. WearCheck’s three existing Honeywell diagnosticians (Daan Burger, Ravi Chetty (inset) and Steven Lumley (right)) were successfully re-certified, and Ashley Mayer (at microscope) received his certification

Ashley Mayer, the newest member of WearCheck’s diagnostic team, is now the fourth diagnostician to be certified by Honeywell, along with Daan Burger, Ravi Chetty and Steven Lumley.

WearCheck couldn’t be prouder of diagnostic manager John Evans, who recently diagnosed his two millionth oil analysis sample. 

John diagnosed his first sample back in February 1983 when he worked for Barlows in Botswana.  After a stint with De Beers in Botswana, also in the oil analysis field, John joined the WearCheck team in 1989 as a diagnostician.

His promotion to diagnostic manager in 1997 meant his workload included a bit more admin, however, this did not slow down his sample diagnosing!

Not only has John clocked up the impressive sample diagnosis count, he has also authored more than 30 of WearCheck’s ever-popular Technical Bulletins. Many of John’s articles on condition monitoring have been published, and he has devised many of the company’s customer training manuals. John has also published a book on oil analysis.

Whilst we don’t have official statistics, we do know that it is extremely rare on a global level to have diagnosed this quantity of samples, therefore John’s achievement aligns him with only a handful of top diagnosticians globally who have reached an equivalent milestone – among them, fellow WearCheck diagnosticians Michelle Allis and Rowan Maartens (recently retired).

Caption: WearCheck’s diagnostic manager John Evans recently diagnosed his two millionth oil analysis sample, ranking him alongside only a handful of top diagnosticians globally who have reached an equivalent milestone – among them, fellow WearCheck diagnosticians Michelle Allis and Rowan Maartens (recently retired).

Meet WearCheck’s newest scientist – Vincent Sithole. He joined the company last year as a research and development assistant, and has recently been promoted to junior chemist at WearCheck’s Pinetown laboratory.

Vincent is working on several interesting research projects in the lab, one of which is the assessment of the determination of glycol in used engine oil through headspace gas chromatography.

Vincent explains, ‘The presence of ethylene glycol in used engine oil is an indication of antifreeze coolant leakage into the crank-case of an internal combustion engine, thus predicting engine-wear problems, therefore this is an effective preventive monitoring tool.

‘Glycol coolants break down in a high temperature engine environment, leading to the formation of acids that, in turn, attack nonferrous bearing surfaces, causing reactions with oil anti-wear and antioxidant additives.’

Vincent recently completed his master’s degree in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry, and notes with interest that his WearCheck lab work dovetails neatly with the subject of his thesis and published peer-reviewed journal articles – phosphorus/sulphur metal compounds (applied as antioxidants and anti-wear additives in petroleum products).

Before joining WearCheck, Vincent had embarked on his PhD while working as a teaching assistant at the University of KZN in Durban.

Caption: Vincent Sithole, junior chemist at WearCheck, operates a gas chromatograph.

Our latest Monitor newsletter features South African stories as well as WearCheck news from places further afield – India, Dubai, Angola, Namibia and Burkina Faso, to name a few.

We discuss the merits of AVT (Advanced Vibration Testing) and the impact this can have on boosting machine/component reliability while reducing maintenance costs.

The winner of our lucky draw prize for the customer survey is revealed, and don’t miss the lube tip in this edition.

If you are considering staff training in oil analysis or reliability solutions, there is information on all the available courses and dates for 2018.

Read all about these stories, and more, in Monitor 76.

Cick here to download the latest issue (477KB)