Burnside Hydracyl, of Ballymoon, Country Carlow, Ireland, has manufactured hydraulic cylinders from agricultural and industrial maintenance for almost four decades. In early 2025, sector-wide trends towards, and customer demand for, enhanced traceability of cleanliness processes prompted it to seek expert assistance.
JJ Ryan, Quality Engineer at Burnside Hydracyl, questioned whether the scheduled monthly fluid changes in the cylinder washing machines were justified by actual contamination levels. Managing Director Brendan Byrne asked Ryan to find a way to measure cylinder cleanliness after washing, to reduce waste and better control unquantified running costs, but without compromising quality or increasing risk.
Ryan contacted Alison Fox, Sales Manager at Dyne Testing, to organise some testing of their products. Dyne used the SITA Cleanospector to assess samples from a series of washers. The device illuminates a metal surface with UV light and measures the fluorescence from residual organic oils and contaminants, giving an immediate, quantitative indication of surface cleanliness. Cleanliness is then described in relative fluorescence units (RFU).
Right away, samples from a specific washer were found to have higher RFU values than expected and, upon inspection, Burnside found a broken arm inside the washing chamber. Discovery of this fault was likely a one-off occurrence, but indicative of the value the Cleanospector provides. “This sort of insight was exactly what we were looking for,” said Ryan. Burnside purchased the SITA Cleanospector in March 2025.
Since implementing the SITA Cleanospector into routine quality testing, Burnside has moved from calendar-based to condition-based fluid replacement. Measurement showed contamination levels remained within acceptable thresholds well beyond the assumed monthly change interval.
As a result, washer fluid changes have been reduced from 12 per year to seven, saving around €7,500 per washer annually, with further optimisation planned throughout 2026.
Improved cleaning consistency strengthened downstream contamination control, supporting compliance with ISO 4406:2021 for hydraulic fluid particle coding and giving Burnside the repeatability its customers expect.
To learn more about how Burnside reduced costs and improved production, read the full case study here.
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