Rob Simmonds is a Reliability Manager and tribologist at R&T Reliability Technologies PL in Sydney, Australia. He has 30 years of experience in lubrication, including selling, manufacturing, and monitoring. Back in 1998-1999, one of Rob’s top salespeople received specialised training at Monash University by ICI on how to perform wear debris analysis (WDA) on oil samples. Monash University had developed the original technique. This salesperson was later recruited by a fuel company but not before passing on his knowledge to Rob. This pivotal moment led Rob to realise that he could better serve his customers by monitoring their plant for abnormal wear rather than just manufacturing lubricants.

In 2000, Rob and his team established the R&T lab, focusing on microscope-based WDA for manufacturing plants. Rob’s career in WDA has been pioneering, as there were no similar labs available for reference when setting up R&T. This led to extensive investigative microscope work to ensure consistent, clean, and accurate results with ongoing monitoring of in lab dust levels weekly and also when samples are being processed. They developed a clean environment with proper filtration and equipment to ensure consistent results. The R&T Analysis reports have been tailored to meet customer requirements.

Key Projects and Experiences

• Wrote the paper “It’s All About Size” back in 2003-2004, the paper was published in both Machinery Lubrication and Electrix Magazine, both magazines have a worldwide distribution area

• Wrote a paper on Electrostatic Discharge In Ammonia Compressors

• Botany Industrial Park (BIP): Monitored gearboxes, compressors, and auxiliary equipment for 25 years in a gasto-polymer plant

• NSW State Rail Laboratory – Collaborated with for 2 years, gaining experience in metallurgical work and monitoring various train components, extending the rebuild time for various components on the trains

• Developed a RCA for ESD and varnish build up in turbine systems based on the colorimetric analysis technique and report for ESD and Varnish build up in turbine systems.

Diverse Industry Experience

• Worked with papermills, cement plants, plaster mills, steel mills, rod mills, tube mills, plaster board plants, cement board plants chip board plants, bakeries, flour mills, polymer injection and blow moulding plants

• Filter Debris Analysis (FDA) - Developed proficiency in identifying abnormal wear, contamination, and root-causing failures across various filter types

• Gas Engine Genset Monitoring - Extended Jenbacher engines rebuild time from 60,000 to 120,000 hours

• Iron Ore Train Automatic Braking system component evaluation, extending rebuild time from 6 years out to 8 years

• Suburban Rail Car Compressor Monitoring, extending service interval from 3 months out to 4 months saving one service per year

• Monitoring Locomotive Engines to extend the rebuild time from 18,000 hrs out to 30,000 hours work ongoing

• Monitoring Haul Truck Centrifuge Filters For the evaluation of a new engine lubricant for a fuel company

• Dust & Dirt Sample Analysis root causing the origin of the contamination found in new equipment to establish whether manufacturing left over debris or environmental contamination, shot blast crystals found forcing the warrantee back to the OEM.