Items filtered by date: Tuesday, 16 December 2025

Our latest Monitor newsletter features South African stories as well as WearCheck news from places further afield – India, Dubai, Angola, Namibia and Burkina Faso, to name a few.

We discuss the merits of AVT (Advanced Vibration Testing) and the impact this can have on boosting machine/component reliability while reducing maintenance costs.

The winner of our lucky draw prize for the customer survey is revealed, and don’t miss the lube tip in this edition.

If you are considering staff training in oil analysis or reliability solutions, there is information on all the available courses and dates for 2018.

Read all about these stories, and more, in Monitor 76.

Cick here to download the latest issue (477KB)

When the power, energy and water professionals of Africa gather at AUW from 15 -17 May in Cape Town, WearCheck will be there to showcase how condition monitoring saves money and boosts machine reliability.

Transformer Fleet Reliability:

Reliable energy flow is paramount in any Electrical system and power transformers are a critical, component. As an asset class, transformers constitute one of the largest investments in a utility’s system. For this reason, transformer condition assessment and management are a high priority.

WearCheck’s transformer condition monitoring programme includes regular transformer oil sample analysis, plus Furanic analysis, Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) analysis, Dissolved gas analysis, (DGA), Corrosive sulphur, Moisture content, Total acid number (TAN), Dielectric strength, Stray Gassing Tendency and Inhibitor content.

WearCheck will share stand O2B with sister company Set Point Laboratories, which offers specialist water analysis services. They also offer testing services on platinum group metals, gold base metals including iron and manganese, general silicates, phosphates, limestone and uranium.

Both companies are part of Torre Industries.

We look forward to seeing you at AUW 2018.

WearCheck Specialty Laboratory Vacancy

Position: Laboratory Supervisor, Isando, Johannesburg.

Main Job Functions:
To organise and control the laboratory and staff in order to facilitate the efficient processing of all samples timeously according to IS0 9001:2015 and ISO 17025 policies and procedures.

Position Requirements:

• Minimum Education – 3 years tertiary chemical qualification and 3-5 years laboratory related work experience
• Chromatography experience would be desirable
• Experience in instrument troubleshooting and problem solving
• Good knowledge of ISO17025 requirements
• Ability to utilize computer software programs, including database programs and spreadsheets
• Methodical, accurate, conscientious, energetic and technically minded
• Good supervision, time management and organisational skills
• High attention to detail and ability to work under pressure
• Must be a team player

Responsibilities:

• To supervise all laboratory functions, including the proper maintenance and operation of the equipment and performing first line troubleshooting
• To maintain optimal levels of laboratory consumables at all times
• To maintain high standards of housekeeping and safety within the laboratory at all times and ensure that all safety issues are resolved timeously
• To monitor instrument performance on a daily basis and perform calibrations where necessary
• To monitor all process control standards on an ongoing basis to ensure problems are detected timeously
• To ensure that staff are trained to perform their duties at all times

Availability: The successful candidate must be able to start in their position as soon as possible.

Only CV’s sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will be considered.

Applications close on 11th May 2018. If you have not received a response by 25th May 2018, please consider your application as being unsuccessful.

When using oil additives, more is not always better. As more additive is blended into the oil, sometimes there isn’t any more benefit gained, and at times the performance actually deteriorates. In other cases, the performance of the additive doesn’t improve, but the duration of service does improve.

In addition, increasing the percentage of a certain additive may improve one property of an oil while at the same time degrade another. When the specified concentrations of additives become unbalanced, overall oil quality can also be affected. Some additives compete with each other for the same space on a metal surface. If a high concentration of an anti-wear agent is added to the oil, the corrosion inhibitor may become less effective. The result may be an increase in corrosion-related problems.

From: The Critical Role of Additives in Lubrication, by Pete Oviedo, Noria Corporation

Some of our larger customers are required to conduct regular audits of all their suppliers, to ensure that the service they are receiving is of the quality that they expect.

This means that every so often, WearCheck, as a supplier, is audited by a customer-appointed company to ensure that service quality remains excellent.

Recently, WearCheck was endorsed once again by Shell after they conducted an audit in which approximately 100 different aspects of the laboratory processes were assessed.

Aspects that were examined included general organisation, buildings, quality assurance procedures and management, sample management, document control, training, diagnostic capability, calibration, maintenance and statistical quality control.

Shell has been a loyal customer of WearCheck’s since 1986.

Tomorrow, cricket fans are in for a treat as the maiden ball is bowled in the action-packed, hard-hitting Indian Premiership League (IPL) cricket event in India.

The IPL, which  features the best cricketing superstars from all around the world, takes place annually over two months, and has been running for 10 years.

Eight teams will battle it out on the cricket pitches of India, with the finals taking place in Mumbai on the 27^th May.

WearCheck have made it easier for you to follow your favourite players and teams. 

Click here to download our handy 2018 IPL Fixtures Lists (5.1MB)

We would like to wish all the WearCheck staff at our branch in Chennai the best of luck as they support their local team, the Chennai Super Kings.

WearCheck’s laboratories in Gauteng recently welcomed new clients Hitachi Ltd., who signed up for condition monitoring services - in particular, oil analysis - for their mining and construction operations across the African continent.

The Japanese-based company focuses on social innovation across a range of business sectors, including power and infrastructure systems, information and telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials and components, automotive systems, healthcare and others.

Hitachi has engaged WearCheck as a support chain partner in the development of their oil analysis programme.

Delegates from Hitachi Ltd. recently attended an oil analysis training course in Johannesburg, run by WearCheck’s technical manager, Steven Lumley

WearCheck and our sister company Set Point Laboratories - both part of the Torre Group - were situated alongside each other at this year’s Mining Indaba.

On standby to greet visitors and showcase the stands , were (from left to right), Keith Finlayson and Philip Schutte (WearCheck), with Moses Lelaka and Gerrit Fouché (Set Point Labs).

As WearCheck’s footprint extends across many African borders, we encounter countries where English is not the predominant business language, and as part of our good business practice ethic, we do what we can to facilitate effective communication with our customers.

To this end, we have recreated our oil sample test kits – originally only available in English – to be available in both Portuguese and French as well. This means that automotive/industrial oil, coolant, fuel, gas engine and aircraft sampling kits are now available in three languages.

The sampling kits look exactly the same as before, with the exception of the automotive/industrial sub-form, which now incorporates a tick-box section for component selection.

Language preference is set at the customer contact level, thereby allowing different contacts, within the same organisation, the option of receiving reports in each person’s preferred language of the three available.    

Reports are viewed on the WearCheck Online system which appears in English, French or Portuguese, depending on customer’s requirements. In fact, all WearCheck Online functions, such as emailing, label printing, severity reporting, problem type grouping and so forth, are available in English, French and Portuguese.

Cummins Angola, as well as being WearCheck agents, were also our first foreign language customer.

Profitability is generally good when productivity levels are high in most industries, and one of the long-recognised ways to ensure that productivity remains elevated is by upskilling the workforce through useful training courses.

As mechanised operations become increasingly complex, and the smooth running of components is increasingly critical to the general production and output in industry, so the need for ongoing employee education becomes more important.

We have run popular skills training courses for our customers for over 20 years. The training material assists staff in various positions within the maintenance teams to ensure that the monitoring and upkeep of components is conducted as efficiently as possible.

WearCheck employs reliability solutions services such as used oil analysis, thermal imaging, vibration monitoring, balancing, laser alignment and others, to monitor and maintain machinery at its optimum yield. Customers with well-trained maintenance staff can supply better samples and data to WearCheck, boosting the integrity of the test results and thus gaining optimum benefit from their condition monitoring programme.

WearCheck’s training courses cover accurate oil analysis report interpretation, correct sample taking, pre-planned maintenance schedules and good lubricant management.

Training courses are conducted around South Africa as well as in other regions where there are WearCheck customers.  Courses are tailored and targeted at a range of levels within an operation, from factory floor to senior management.

Over the 40 years in business, WearCheck has compiled a database of sample diagnoses and wear trends, adding 600 000 new sample results annually to the data. Much of the training course material draws on this database, with the added benefit that WearCheck processes samples from a range of OEMs.

Oil Analysis One (two full days) costs R5 950.00.  Oil Analysis Two (one full day) and costs R3 000.00.  All courses include course material, refreshments, giveaways and certificates. Prices exclude VAT and are subject to change.  Both of these courses can be presented at the customer’s venue, and courses can also be customised to specific customer requirements.

WearCheck also offers two more on-site courses:

•           WearCheck Practical (in English or Zulu), (half day) costing R735.00 plus VAT per delegate

•           WearCheck Customised – oil analysis for workshop technicians, (full day) costing R1 730.00 plus VAT per delegate.

All courses can be presented at the customer’s premises for a minimum of seven delegates.  There may be an additional charge for the lecturer’s travel and accommodation, if needed.

Oil analysis training courses can also be arranged anywhere in the world. We conduct regular courses in Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Kimberley, Makopane, Nelspruit, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg, Steelpoort, Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania (Mwanza), Zambia (Kitwe).

Our 2018 oil analysis training schedule is as follows. Remember - reservations are essential as courses fill up quickly.

2018 WearCheck Training Courses

For more details on course content, view Training at www.wearcheck.co.za. To book, phone Steven Lumley on (031) 700-5460 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..