ANALYSIS SERVICES
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BP
BP's system, Indic-8 (Reader reply No 60) has been running for five years. les open to au and guarantees a 36hour turnaround. In practice results are often faxed or phoned within 24 hours with a copy posted as confirmation.
Analysis is carried out at BP's lab in Woking but one-off testing is not encouraged—the service is designed around condition monitoring. A guide is provided for result interpretation. Prices are negotiable A sampling kit is provided, including bottles, pump, piping and Freepost tubes.
Castro!
Castro! Labcheck (Reader reply No 61) has been running for four years. It is reserved for Castro! users and is based at the company's lab in Ellesmere Port.
A 48-hour turnaround is standard but this can be speeded up to 24 hours if needed. A sampling kit is provided and the test results are printed on colour-coded paper for an immediate visual indication of the verdict. Bad news can be faxed directly to the customer. The price of the service is negotiable.
Total
The Total Lubricant Analysis Service (Reader reply No 62) offers a turnaround time of three or four days. The company has the facilities to carry out testing itself but most samples are analysed independently.
The service is free to Total customers up to a certain point, after which £6.50 is charged per sample. A sampling kit is provided; serious problems are notified via fax or phone.
Texaco
Texaco's Texchek service (Reader reply No 63 is reserved for its account customers. Tests are carried out at a lab in Stoke; results are supplied by fax or phone, normally within 48 hours if the results are good. Serious problems are notified within eight hours. A sampling kit is supplied and, if need be, the Texaco area manager will take the samples himself. Prices are negotiable.
Millers Oils Millers Oils, the West Yorkshire-based manufacturer and diesel oil specialist, operates Millercare (Reader reply No 64) at its Brighouse base. The service is free to account customers only.
Millers' lab processes up to 300 samples a week; turnaround time is normally less than seven days. A sampling kit is porvided.
Shell
Shell CARE (Reader reply No 65) provides a 24-stage test procedure and serious faults are notified immediately by phone or fax. A full report is sent out within 48 hours.
Analysis is carried out at Shell's own lab; a sampling kit is provided and prices are negotiable.