Pushing the Limits in Product Testing

If you put a fuel filter under immense pressure, it’ll eventually crack and explode. In fact, I tell my team, “Our job is to blow up filters.”

Why does going beyond standard requirements involve pushing our products to the limits in our labs? Let me give you five reasons.

1. Insights into real-world conditions. First, observing when our products fail helps us better understand the impacts of real-world conditions. No one can control these conditions. Our filters must be ready for any environment, no matter how harsh. The better we can replicate those conditions, the more accurately we’ll understand what our customers and their equipment are up against.
2. Design and application flexibility. Our customers have unique operations, and our filters are used in a variety of applications, meaning we can’t offer a one-size-fits-all portfolio. So, we need to ensure we can meet unique customer requirements while maintaining the same (or better) level of quality and dependability across all our filtration products. We can’t do that without forcing our work to prove itself through repeated stress tests.
3. Data integrity. We may sell filters, but our lab’s product is data — lots and lots of data. We repeatedly test our filters to failure, generating a mountain of data our engineers then compile and analyze to determine the reliability of our products via our testing parameters, procedures and equipment. Having the highest levels of data quality requirements in our labs ensures that the data generated can be trusted. This in turn gives us the confidence that our products can definitely be trusted by our customers to deliver superior protection for their equipment.
4. Filter quality. When we test a new filter, we push it beyond the specifications. We demand it performs two to three times better than the base requirement. Pushing filters to the breaking point proves that their performance is more than just empty words printed in an ad; it’s a proven promise.
5. Constant improvement. We don’t sit around thinking, “We know enough. We’ve done enough. The product is good enough.” If we don’t push our products to failure, we can’t improve, meet or exceed our customers’ ever-increasing requirements, or innovate for future demands. The world around us isn’t standing still. And by continually learning, improving and adjusting, we enable the success of our customers.

At Atmus, we’re aligned under a shared purpose: “Creating a better future by protecting what is important.” We want the work we do to have a positive impact on our world.

Considering how high the stakes are for success — our customers’ equipment, their livelihoods and the planet — there’s certainly more to gain than to lose by pushing the limits.