Why a disclaimer?
We think the service we offer our customers is great, but even the best analysis is only ever as good as the sample submitted for testing. This means that if the machine is full of metallic wear, but the sample provided doesn’t capture that material, no lab analysis will ever be able to help spot it. It is also worth remembering that lab analysis is also not a magic bullet and forms only part of a wider relatability-centred maintenance strategy for your machinery. Customers should never base an important maintenance decision on the basis of just one sample; no matter how confident you are, the sample was taken correctly.
This document will help you use your lab analysis results to be better prepared for future maintenance decision planning. Let’s first start by establishing some facts and best practices.
The facts
- Of all the analysis samples taken worldwide sent to multiple different labs across the world a significant proportion of samples are not taken according to best practices. Dipping the very top of the fluid tank or scraping the bottom of it are never going to be representative of the bulk of the fluid. Our diagnosticians do try to highlight to you if we think the sample may not be representative, but we cannot negate all of these cases of customer error. So if a sample seems too good or bad to be true, consider reviewing how you are taking the sample. Some guidance on best practices can be found here, but may also be available from your OEM too.
- No test is 100% perfect. The complex chemical reactions and processes used to test your samples all have some degree of error in their methods, often referred to as reproducibility. Even with tests with very good reproducibility values, this still only covers 95% of samples, and 5% can still fall outside this reproducibility value and still be considered acceptable. On top of this, some methods have some inherent limitations, such as ICP being limited to particles of 5 microns or less, and this is why we introduced tests such as LubeWear to try to tackle this long-known problem. Hence, before becoming focussed on a single lab result, take this into consideration. Our diagnosticians do use a combination of tests and retests if we believe a result doesn’t fit a trend, but no lab can ever be 100% perfect and completely negate this inherent error in chemical, physical and spectroscopy tests. Hence, we would advise taking one of our paid training courses and using some of our additional free training materials to help you use the lab data more effectively. You can find more information about these here.
- We can’t read your mind and don’t have access to the specific system you are sampling to know everything about your operating conditions. So you are responsible for informing the lab of relevant things related to your machinery. For instance, if you have recently changed a cylinder head and we detect coolant in the oil, it makes a big difference to whether we diagnose a coolant leak or contamination entering during the maintenance activity based on your providing this information. You can find out more about informing us of maintenance activity here.
- Being responsible for your machinery and having appropriate safety and contingency plans for machinery failures and downtime is essential. Lab analysis does not free you of the normal due diligence you would take with or without a sampling programme of adopting good maintenance practices and ensuring you operate in a safe working environment. Your maintenance decisions should be based holistically, always seeking confirmation from other findings before undertaking anything costly on your systems. You should equally be guided by OEM, fluid supplier and filter supplier recommendations in your approach to using and interacting with your systems. If you believe any action or advice in one of our reports may conflict with these approaches, stop and contact the laboratory to discuss your concerns. After all, we only advise and never instruct. The final maintenance decision and responsibility for it is always yours. You are the one with the machine, perhaps working with it on a daily basis and have access to information beyond the lab results. Use this information to inform your maintenance decisions.
- Postal services are not perfect, so plan for it. We offer a few postal services to customers for shipping samples ranging from freepost Royal Mail, to courier collection to the customer using their own services. Unless you pay for a timed next-day courier, very few parcel services will deliver in under one week and parcel post is always slower than letter post. This means that if your sample is urgent, you should use a timed courier service rather than relying on standard post options. Equally, if you believe you only have one shot at taking your sample, then it is wise to take a backup sample or a retained sample you can keep and send off in the event a parcel never arrives or the package is damaged in some way in transit. The customer in all circumstances, is responsible for confirming their samples are securely sealed and are posted safely and legally.
The legal bit
Much of what we do is reliant on our customers taking samples correctly, registering the information for that machine correctly, informing the lab of anything relevant to their machine and on courier services delivering samples to us in a timely and intact manner we need to account for this in a disclaimer. Equally, as all internationally recognised methods all have some level of error or limitation so that no lab can ever be 100% perfect we also need to factor this in too and make sure our customers understand this.
OIL ANALYSIS LABORATORIES DISCLAIMER
Oil Analysis Laboratories (the “Lab”) provides oil analysis and testing services (the “Services”). The Services are provided based on the quality of the oil sample and information provided to us by you (the “Customer”).
- Advisory Comments Only: Our analysis data and the resulting report (the “Report”) should be considered as advisory and informational in nature only. They are not intended to replace professional OEM recommendations, machine maintenance, or any other relevant field diagnostic findings.
- Dependence on Sample and Information Quality: The accuracy and reliability of our analysis and the Report heavily depend on the quality and representativeness of the sample provided by the Customer. The Lab is not responsible for any inaccuracies or errors in the Report caused by poor or unrepresentative sample quality or incomplete/inaccurate/delayed sample information.
- Use of Multiple Diagnostic Techniques: The Report should not be the sole basis for any maintenance decisions or actions. We strongly recommend the Customer use the Report in conjunction with other diagnostic techniques and professional advice.
- Customer Responsibility: The Customer is responsible for informing the Lab of any significant maintenance activities, changes, or investigative findings related to the equipment from which the sample was taken. Failure to do so may affect the accuracy of the Report and the Lab’s ability to provide useful analysis and recommendations.
- Maintenance decisions – the final maintenance decision and/or actions taken following a sample report and the consequences of such decisions is the responsibility of the customer only.
- Sample submission – the customer is responsible for accurately recording sample information on the lab web portal and in ensuring the sample is sent to the laboratory safely and legally with an appropriate container and packaging.
By using our Services, the Customer acknowledges and agrees that they have read, understood, and accepted the terms of this disclaimer.
Limitation of Liability: The Lab shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including but not limited to damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, safety-related losses, data, or other intangible losses (even if the Lab has been advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from the use or inability to use the Services or the Report.
The Lab reserves the right to change, modify, or update this disclaimer at any time without notice. The Customer is responsible for reviewing this disclaimer periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Services after any changes to this disclaimer constitutes your acceptance of these terms and all other terms outlined in our terms and conditions found here.
Governing Law: This disclaimer shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the UK.
If you do not agree with any part of this disclaimer or our terms of use, please do not use our Services.