Getting sticky with oil analysis
By Amber Fessler, Contributing Editor | TLT Shop Floor January 2026
This can be a glue that helps hold the relationship together.
Stickiness is often the opposite of what we’re striving for as lubrication professionals, but it’s a great thing to have with the people using our products or services. We often tell new sales reps that grease is a door-opener that can help them sell more fluids later, but what isn’t said often enough is that oil analysis can be a glue that helps hold the relationship together.
I had the opportunity to work with a customer who had used a mid-tier product for years, but their maintenance procedures meant they were often changing the oil before it met condemning limits. They were using oil analysis, and where it was being used most consistently, we could see that they were draining money out of their sumps instead of harnessing its predictive power to run longer. They agreed to two trials of a product in a lower tier, and we met regularly to review the data.
On the surface, what we discovered together was that they could indeed get the performance they wanted out of the recommended product, resulting in significant savings. As they watched trend lines turn into greater uptime, operators whose previous exposure to oil analysis was limited to “send the samples to the lab and look for orange flags on the reports” learned how to evaluate those reports more effectively. The appreciation and trust the operators gained for the power of oil analysis are critical to achieving a better return on investment (ROI).
What if the customer has no oil analysis program in place, and you don’t have a program to offer? You can still accomplish a lot without an existing program if you are willing to go the extra mile. Follow these steps to help an end-user who is new to oil analysis:
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Provide information about how oil analysis will save them money; you can use examples of potential cost savings from extended drains and avoiding common failures or even shutdowns.
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Decide together on a candidate piece of equipment and plan to collect a sampling baseline on one drain interval before making any changes to the fluid or the oil hours/miles.
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Obtain kits from a reputable third-party lab and train the person who will be taking the samples so they can use best practices, avoid contamination and collect a representative sample.
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Meet frequently to review and discuss the reports and trends. Consider whether additional charts should be created, such as overlaying data from multiple drain intervals to show a change in performance.
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Educate the customer about the benefits of continuing to use oil analysis.
Whether you do this on a trial basis to demonstrate the benefit of a change or you can get the customer onto a regular, ongoing program, you’ll have proven your expertise and value to their business. A customer that trusts you to understand and take care of their business is a customer that wants to keep working with you.
Whenever oil analysis is discussed, you are likely to hear someone say that oil is the lifeblood of equipment, in that it keeps equipment functioning smoothly and holds information about component health. Why not turn oil analysis into the lifeblood of your relationships with the customers you serve?
Amber Fessler is senior sector manager, lubricants for CITGO Petroleum Corp. in Houston, Texas. You can reach her at afessle@citgo.com.