Oil Condition Monitoring Savings Calculations and Examples
Implementing an Oil Condition Monitoring (OCM) program isn’t just about diagnostics, but about unlocking measurable, recurring savings. Consider a single injection molding unit used by a recent client, the Injection Machine PT 350 3500 Kn, which requires approximately 410 liters of hydraulic oil per tank. At a representative cost of $5 per liter, one full oil change costs $2,050.
In a facility with eight similar machines, an initial oil investment of $16,400 is required. Assuming biannual oil changes, the annual operating cost for hydraulic oil alone is $32,800, or roughly $2,733.33 monthly.
If oil quality was measured and found to still be within operational parameters for just two additional months, the oil change interval could be extended. This shifts the cost from a 6-month interval to an 8-month interval, reducing the monthly cost to $2,050 and saving the company $8,200 annually. And this is from just one oil type, on just one process line.
Material and Tangible Value of OCM
Let’s look at other common industrial and commercial systems, where the value of OCM becomes even more pronounced:
| Equipment | Approx. Oil Volume | Oil Type | Oil Cost/L | Annual Cost (6 month interval) | Reduced Cost (9-month change interval) | Annual Savings per 1 unit |
| PARAMAX® Gearmotor | 3L | EP80W-90 | $5.00 | $30.00 | $22.50 | $7.50 |
| Cooling Tower Reducer | 3.4L | Synthetic | $6.50 | $44.20 | $33.15 | $11.05 |
| Wind Turbine (5MW) | 700 gal (~2650L) | Synthetic PAO | $17.50 | $92,750.00 | $69,562.50 | $23,187.50 |
| VMAC Air Compressor | 9L | SAE 20/30 | $5.00 | $90.00 | $67.50 | $22.50 |
| Diesel Locomotive | 946L | Engine Oil | $3.50 | $6,622.00 | $4,966.50 | $1,655.50 |
| 500 kVA Transformer | ~700L | Insulating Oil | $3.00 | $4,200.00 | $3,150.00 | $1,050.00 |
| Semi-truck | 57L (15 gal) | Engine Oil | $3.50 | $399.00 | $299.25 | $99.75 |
| Forklift | 33L | Hydraulic Oil | $5.00 | $330.00 | $247.50 | $82.50 |
| Elevator (large) | 20L | Hydraulic Oil | $5.00 | $200.00 | $150.00 | $50.00 |
| Crane | 90L | Hydraulic Oil | $5.00 | $900.00 | $675.00 | $225.00 |
Even modest savings can translate into thousands of dollars per year when scaled across fleets or production lines. Consider, large fleets of semi-trucks, how many elevators are in an urban hotel, or a large warehouse facility with rows and rows of production lines. Even the low-end annual savings above, when considering how many units are under operation in a single facility, can have massive effects in the long run.
Benefits of OCM
OCM selling points:
- Extended oil change intervals through real data, not guesswork.
- Early fault detection, preventing catastrophic equipment failure.
- Improved asset uptime by scheduling oil changes and maintenance only when needed.
- Reduced waste and environmental footprint, aligning with sustainability goals.
For example, if a wind farm with 10 turbines extended oil changes from 12 months to 18 months, they could save $44,167 per year ($26,500 → $17,667 × 10 turbines). That’s one dataset, in one facility.
Even conservative models show that routine implementation of OCM can save tens of thousands annually per facility. When extended across different oil types, systems, and industries the return on investment for OCM hardware, software, and analysis becomes undeniably compelling.
Expanded and Ergonomic Value of OCM
That’s without any predictive failure reduction or extended uptime. Just smarter scheduling.
These numbers only consider the tangible cost of the lubricating oil itself. In real operations, taking into account labor and equipment, the value of OCM skyrockets.
Extending oil change intervals decreases the labor associated with the process of changing the oil itself; especially, if the oil changing process is outsourced like cars/trucks going to an auto shop. For example, BlueLine Taxis has over 1000 cars in its fleet. Using a cheap provider for the oil change costing ~$40 per change and a biannual interval, the outsourced cost is over $80,000. Extending the oil change just one month decreases the cost per year to $68,571—an $11,429 annual saving.
Outside of the labor costs, the major savings are a result of preventing downtime of equipment. One machine going down in a facility can cost the company thousands upon thousands of dollars. A critical machine going down could result in the work coming to a standstill for prolonged periods, and the cost of repairing/replacing the unit drastically increases the bill. If electricity or cooling generators go down in a warehouse, operations may have to stop until working conditions are reinstated, costing the company yet again. If machines like elevators go down in a hotel or ski lifts go out on a mountain, all of a sudden you have guests that are frustrated and could feasibly demand money back, whilst likely not returning, costing even more money. Inconvenience breeds antagonism in industries catering to guests.
In mining operations, the typical cost of downtime alone is $130,000 per hour plus around $180,000 for repairs and replacements plus shipping and labor associated with critical equipment. Unaddressed machines that have recurrent issues are estimated to cost up to 10 billion USD.
The value of OCM is unparalleled, especially in large-scale operations across all industries. Considering the material oil costs, labor costs, replacements and repairs costs, and operational costs, the savings that OCM can provide are well worth the investment. Rather than blindly following off-based intervals, you could be making knowledgeable decisions and confidently saving thousands or even millions of dollars in the long run.
