The laboratory examination of a lubricant's characteristics, suspended impurities, and wear debris is known as oil analysis (OA). OA is carried out as part of regular predictive maintenance to deliver precise and useful data on lubricant and machine condition. Trends can be found by following the findings of oil analysis samples over the course of a certain machine. These trends can help avoid expensive repairs. Tribology is the study of wear in machinery. Tribologists frequently perform or interpret results from oil analyses.

Oil analysis is a long-term program that, where relevant, can eventually be more predictive than any of the other technologies. It can take years for a plant's oil program to reach this level of sophistication and effectiveness. This book includes what all practitioners need to know to build an oil analysis program for their machine inspection. This book includes three real case studies and numerous industrial examples to improve machine reliability and enhance the condition monitoring program.