Extended oil change intervals to enhance uptime

Hydraulic oil is important for the upkeep and protection of the Big Truck hydraulic system including cylinders, wet brakes, valves and hydraulic components. Changing the hydraulic oil can be an expensive part of periodic maintenance, not only in costs of the oil itself, but also the parts and labour involved in the process, and the associated downtime.

Together with partner, Shell, an oil condition monitoring service called Shell LubeAnalyst is available for Hyster Big Trucks which can help to extend the hydraulic oil change interval from 3,000 to 10,000 hours (on the condition of positive oil sampling results). This service is particularly beneficial for Big Truck operations where the hydraulic oil quantity that needs to be changed can be up to 850l.

Sampling hydraulic oil using Shell LubeAnalyst helps to identify potential oil or component problems before they become critical. The system provides a report, containing a detailed sample analysis, with comprehensive actions and recommendations to maintain or improve the oil condition. This helps operations to reduce costs, through preventing potential damage, scheduling maintenance in advance, and reducing downtime. Oil condition reports are available via email, or can be downloaded online, in 20 different languages.

Through field testing with Shell LubeAnalyst, specialists from Hyster Europe discovered that it is possible to achieve an estimated cost reduction of up to 67% over a 10,000-hour period (not including the labour cost or the downtime cost involved).