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One program, less downtime
Consolidate lubrication to cut cost and maintenance
By Phil Beljanski
Estimates show hundreds of billions of dollars are spent every year repairing factory machinery. The equipment was typically damaged from wear caused by poor lubrication. How could something as mundane as properly lubricating machinery add up to so many billions of dollars?
Consider the lubrication requirements of a large manufacturing plant. It can have more than 80,000 lubrication points, involving hundreds of combinations of lubricant types, frequencies, and methods of application. The wrong lubricant, or the correct lubricant applied in the wrong manner, can bring plant operations to a grinding halt. With so much at stake, it’s critical to ensure the right lubricant is used at the right time.
Unfortunately, the importance of proper lubrication management is often ignored or misunderstood, for reasons including:
• Inconvenience/lack of process. Plants with thousands of moving parts have unique lubrication requirements and schedules that are difficult to meet and track effectively. Mistakes and oversights include empty oil reservoirs or grease fittings that have been overlooked due to lack of proper documentation. If it’s difficult to find, it will be even more difficult to repair.
• Unclear or multiple lubricant choices. Maintenance professionals can make mistakes that damage equipment, causing preventable maintenance and increased downtime. What’s worse, suppliers offering only a limited line of lubricants sometimes try to force-fit their products regardless of specific application requirements. As a result, lubricants over- or under-engineered for a given application can cost machine life and maintenance dollars.
• Over-eagerness. Some maintenance professionals typically adopt a conservative but costly approach to machine lubrication by replacing fluids more frequently than necessary. But oil drain intervals can be extended in many instances just by selecting better oils. For example, the switch from conventional oils to a new generation of ultra-high purity mineral oils or synthetic lubricants can extend drain oils by as much as three to ten times, respectively.
Total lubrication management
To recapture money lost through maintenance efforts, many companies are turning to total lubrication management programs. Consolidating lubricant purchases into a single, integrated program can enhance productivity by making it easier to automate preventive maintenance routines. The programs may also use a local product supply to reduce on-site inventory costs.
While total lubrication management is a seemingly simple concept, success almost always depends on finding the right single source of lubrication products and services. When evaluating suppliers, look for a complete product line, knowledge of equipment and applications, an oil analysis program, and lubrication management software, which can be extremely helpful, especially if your supplier is experienced in using these tools.
The suppliers best equipped to meet these requirements should offer a complete line of industrial lubricants, not just a “wide range” of products. Fluids for high-volume applications include hydraulic, compressor and vacuum pump, gearbox and chain, and multipurpose oils. Specialized industrial compounds such as greases, pastes, anti-friction coatings, and dispersions must be added to the mix. They should also offer a range of base stocks, which are essential.
Synthetics provide excellent resistance to emulsification and last longer, resulting in longer intervals. Ultra-high purity mineral oils provide the same benefits and improve additive performance, which results in longer life than conventional mineral oils. The full-line supplier must also be able to draw on functional additive technologies including anti-oxidant, anti-wear, and extreme temperature additives.
Equipment and applications
Any effective lubricant consolidation program requires technical support from local representatives. Their expertise will help your maintenance professionals avoid mistakes in lubricant selection and application. That support should avoid errors that shorten equipment life and stop production.
For example, high temperatures in air compressors accelerate reactions between compressed oxygen and impurities, resulting in rapid oxidation and a sudden increase in viscosity and lubricant failure. Mineral oils in air compressors generally last only 1,000 hours. By comparison, synthetic compressor oil, specially formulated for air compressors, can last approximately 12 times as long. The knowledgeable lubricant supplier understands such applications.
A successful lubrication program also requires a thorough oil analysis system. This program tracks the wear of oil in use by comparing the results with previous reports, and notes the trends. It’s also important to know how to take a representative sample, and how to interpret the results. The process helps identify contamination, lubricant degradation, and abnormal machine wear.
Lubrication management
When used properly, dedicated lubrication management software is a powerful tool for scheduling, supervising, and recording the process. It exploits and complements oil analysis by collecting trend data and developing responsive lubrication schedules.
But you need a lubrication partner who knows what parameters are important to load into the software before the system can deliver benefits. Maintenance managers and workers schedule and record lubrication changes for specific equipment, then the software automates the lubrication management function.
In a complex manufacturing operation, improper lubrication management can compromise productivity and profitability. The consolidation of your lubricant program can help cut costs and extend the life of equipment.
Phil Beljanski is a senior industry specialist with Molykote Lubrication Solutions, Dow Corning Corp.
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