Mattias Burman is Business Area Manager for HYDAC’s Industrial Group and is also responsible for the digital platform Fluid Care Portal, which they launched at full scale last year.
– With the portal, we want to help our customers gain a better understanding of the condition of the entire machine, something we can do through advanced analysis of oil samples combined with information from smart sensors installed throughout a hydraulic system, he explains. A large share of the faults that occur in hydraulic systems are due to the condition of the fluid, but general laboratory advice is not enough to prevent incidents and acute shutdowns.
– You have to be able to interpret the analysis results from oil samples based on the specific conditions of an individual hydraulic system. The performance of each system depends on the conditions under which it is used, which components have been used in the system, and much more. In order to interpret the analysis results, you need to know the prerequisites of that particular system.
Built on data from around the world
Fluid Care Portal was developed by Business Innovation Group, a group within HYDAC that works on creating new innovative solutions for the global market.
– They have access to data from all of our service centers around the world, and based on that they have developed digital analysis programs that use machine learning and some AI to interpret oil samples and signals from smart sensors in the system. The purpose is to extend equipment service life and optimize machine health. Through preventive maintenance and reliable fluid maintenance routines, the goal is to avoid acute operational stoppages. During all the years Mattias Burman has worked in the hydraulics industry, the focus has been on improving operational reliability and carrying out fluid analyses.
– Previously, however, it was mainly about assessing the cleanliness of an oil in order to determine when it was time for an oil change. What our new platform adds is that, in addition to that, it also analyzes the different contaminants in the oil and determines where they come from. If, for example, there are metal particles in the oil, analyses can show that they come from a specific bearing that then needs to be replaced. In that way, the portal’s analyses can determine the condition of the entire machine, not just how clean the oil is, he explains. In recent years, there has been an increased focus in the industry on monitoring the condition of the entire hydraulic system, partly in order to increase energy efficiency, reliability and maintain a cleaner system.
– We have always focused on oil cleanliness, sustainability issues and energy savings; that is the foundation behind all the systems we build. Now we are noticing that many customers also share that focus and want to gain better insight into their systems, something we can help them with through, for example, the new portal.
Need to understand their systems
Hydraulic fluid is one of the most important components in a hydraulic system, and it needs to be handled correctly in order to achieve optimal operational reliability and sustainability.
– If you do not know what you are doing when carrying out various maintenance measures, you can make the machine’s performance worse instead of improving it. That is why it is important for us to work closely with customers so that we always start from their operations and specific conditions if we are to help them in the right way. This also means that customers need to have a good understanding of their systems. At the same time, it is not always easy for customers to have that insight themselves, partly because internal expertise may be lacking and partly because of a lack of time.
– That is when it is good to get help from a partner like HYDAC, where the expertise and time exist for deeper analyses of a hydraulic system’s condition. This is where the digital platform Fluid Care Portal comes in; with its help, we can help the customer better understand their systems and work with preventive maintenance.
Helps customers interpret analysis reports
The core of the platform is that it both collects and analyzes large amounts of data from the system and helps interpret the results.
– That is one of the things our users appreciate the most: getting help understanding the analysis reports and knowing what they need to do based on them in order to optimize their systems. Simply receiving an analysis report from a laboratory can be a little confusing, and it can be difficult to know how to use the results. In our portal, the results are interpreted and you also receive recommendations for various actions, such as improving filtration with an optimized filter, explains Mattias Burman. Everything is based on oil samples that are sent in and/or online measurements in the system itself. These are collected in the portal and provide information over time about the condition of a system.
– Through the trend reports that are generated, it becomes easier to identify deviations in your own system. This means that maintenance can be managed according to the specific conditions of that system instead of following general recommendations for, for example, oil change intervals. The trend function provides a summary of changes in results over time. Keeping track of trends is crucial for identifying potential problems with system performance and taking measures to prevent major faults before they arise.
A preliminary analysis is needed
However, data is needed about the hydraulic system you want to analyze; the more data you can enter, the better analyses the portal can perform.
– If you want to get the maximum out of the system, we carry out a preliminary analysis together with the customer. But it is also possible to send in oil samples and receive an answer and analysis from that. Mattias Burman explains that Fluid Care Portal can be seen as a digital colleague for proactive fluid management. In the portal, you can build a clear and easy-to-survey structure and gain a complete overview of different systems and their condition.
– Analyses are then carried out continuously, and you receive recommendations for relevant measures based on knowledge from our laboratories around the world. You can also store all relevant documentation in the portal, such as hydraulic diagrams, service reports and other documentation linked to assets and equipment for easy access.
Also contributes to sustainability efforts
By maximizing the service life of equipment, environmental impact is simultaneously minimized and greater sustainability is supported.
– You also get lower operating costs through reduced fluid consumption and fewer acute stoppages. Those working with maintenance can work more efficiently because they receive well-founded recommendations regarding fluid and machine health, what measures need to be taken, and when they need to be taken. One of the functions that users of the portal appreciate most is that they receive automatic feedback when deviations occur in measurement data.
– They receive an email with information about what has been detected and what it means. In that way, they do not need to worry about missing important information about how the hydraulic system is performing. The customer can also log in to the portal and get an overview already on the first page. There is, for example, an interactive graph showing an overview of analyses carried out during the past six months, where you can click on each bar to be redirected to the selected analyses. You also get an overview of all the assets entered into the portal and their condition.
Working together in the portal
Mattias Burman explains that the portal is used jointly by HYDAC and the customer, and both parties have access to all the information.
– How the customer then chooses to use us and our expertise is, of course, up to the customer. If they want us to help remedy the things that need to be addressed, we do that. If they want to discuss different solutions to problems that arise, we are always there, and if they want us to come out and carry out analyses on site in their production, we do that as well. In that way, it is a very flexible system, and it costs the customer nothing to use Fluid Care Portal, Mattias Burman concludes.
