AM-04-32 Engine Lubricant Testing – Challenges for the Independent Test Laboratories in the Changing Lubricant Business Environment

Description:

In the 1950s the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) began to take a serious interest in standardizing engine tests for lubricants that were being promulgated by the original equipment manufacturers to provide increased protection for their engines in the field. This increasing standardization of the engine tests spawned a new, and more widely understood language for the quality definition of engine lubricants. With the standardization also came the opportunity for testing organizations to offer a service that could be considered a commodity, albeit a very technically sensitive commodity. For over thirty years standardized testing grew in volume and complexity and substantial businesses were built on this growth. This paper will look at the standardized testing business as it has continued to evolve over the past ten years.