Plant managers are often better informed on improvements in plant machinery than in advances in the lubricants their equipment uses.
The lubrication industry continues to improve the formulation of its products to get the maximum benefit and life from their oils and greases.
Lubricant manufacturers are also very active in the development of preventative maintenance practices. Use of the proper lubricant, in the proper amount and at the proper time, will help to prevent breakdowns. Some plant mangers strive for what they think is adequate lubrication, accepting occasional machinery breakdowns as a part of normal operations -- despite the associated costs for mechanical repairs, lost production, and perhaps damage to the product being manufactured.
Total Productive Maintenance
The Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) is a strong advocate of preventative maintenance. Its studies have found that proper and effective lubrication can prevent the majority of mechanical failures, which should truly be rare incidents.
JIPM has drafted tenets for what it calls Total Productive Maintenance. It says manufacturers should seek production perfection, nothing less than "zero accidents, zero defects, and zero failures."
The involvement and support of a plant's entire workforce, from the front office to the factory floor, is required to meet such a goal. It also requires broad participation company-wide, not just in the manufacturing division but also in departments such as product development, marketing, and administration.
JIPM says it is essential that all machinery should be correctly and adequately lubricated. Too often, machinery failures result from the wrong lubricants, or too much or too little of the right lubricants.
Other common problems are oil contamination and use of lubricants with the incorrect viscosity, weak oxidation resistance, or poor thermal stability.
Partnering With a Lubricants Supplier
The lubricants supplier should be a partner who is constantly trying to create additional value in the manufacturing process. They should not only offer a full portfolio of oils and greases, but also extensive technical support, lubricant-related services, and research capabilities.
That includes experienced specialists who are available to investigate a plant's operations and help design solutions to specific problems.
The lubricant company's personnel should be able to evaluate total plant systems to outline which services will optimize processes while providing the greatest return on investment. The lubricant supplier's goals for the customer should be improved product quality, assistance with environmental issues, continuous process improvement, reduced inventories, optimization of the procurement and supply chain, and improved business controls.
Technical support should include advice on preventive maintenance, lubrication and equipment diagnostics, consulting and training, fluid conditioning services, and lubrication program management.
The specialists should advise manufacturers on products for specific applications; offer ways to consolidate and minimize the number of products without compromising system performance; survey the lubrication needs of machinery; provide lubricant diagnostics; train employees; and offer on-site reclamation.
At the same time, the lubricant manufacturer should be working closely with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and industry associations to help them design current and future performance requirements for machinery lubricants.
In many cases, the lubricant manufacturer has set more stringent operational specifications (such as the ability to separate water) for its products than the OEM or general industry standards.
Steps Toward Better Practices
A plant manager desiring to improve lubrication practices should first conduct a comprehensive survey of mechanical equipment in the plant or in a line targeted for improvement.
The lubricant supplier should have the expertise to perform this survey.
Then the operating manuals or the OEMs would be consulted to determine lubrication needs and frequency. Used oil analysis might be performed on critical pieces of equipment.
Many plant operators have begun using color-coding systems to ensure that the correct type of oil or grease is used in each application. Under that approach, each drum of lubricant would be marked with a colored symbol when it is delivered to the plant. That particular mark would also be used on all intermediate containers and applicators and to the equipment that uses the lubricant.
For instance, when a particular grease is labeled with a blue square, then all of the containers, grease guns, and grease points in the plant using that particular grease are marked with a blue square.
This visual approach to equipment maintenance enables any employee to easily determine the proper lubricant at each point on a particular machine. And it permits machine operators to assume some of the normal lubrication tasks performed by maintenance personnel.
JIPM has found that when all employees are knowledgeable about proper lubrication, they are more likely to assume responsibility for it. Such teamwork could prevent many mechanical failures.
However, color-coding doesn't guard against over- or under-lubricating equipment. To help employees follow lubricant specifications and achieve JIPM standards, manufacturers should consider using lubrication management software. This program can be used to prioritize lubrication activities and schedule preventive maintenance. It can also collect critical data on equipment operations for compilation in reports to management. And when color-coding is combined with bar coding of equipment and lubricant containers, plant operators have a paperless lubrication maintenance records system.
Extending Equipment Life
Smart fluid management can extend equipment life. The supplier can check for oxidation, wear metals, viscosity changes, contamination, thermal instability, and other problems when oil samples are provided. Samples should be provided at regular intervals.
In some situations, the supplier can perform on-site reclamation, which can extend the life of lubricants and equipment through filtration, dehydration (water removal), and additive renewal. That can be a practical solution for customers who otherwise would have to replace, or discard, large volumes of oil.
Newer-generation hydraulic oils have been developed to cover a wide range of operating conditions. They are often formulated with anti-wear molecules that can extend machinery life and are designed to filter readily, even in the presence of water
Water contamination is common in hydraulic systems used outdoors. Cold temperatures can thicken the oil, requiring more energy to pump it, but a properly formulated product can overcome this.
Also, in outdoor applications, rainwater can enter a sump. A hydraulic fluid should be able to separate water quickly so that it may be removed from the bottom of the sump. Premium fluids have been developed to separate water readily and prevent hydrolysis (reaction to water), which can lead to corrosion.
The primary anti-wear agent in hydraulic fluids is a zinc-based molecule that also contains sulfur and phosphorous. A common misconception is that the more zinc, the better. Some zinc molecules are more stable than others and can break down, leading to premature wear. Ashless hydraulic oils contain no zinc and still provide excellent anti-wear properties.
Good hydraulic oil will contain a balanced level of anti-wear, demulsifiers, rust and corrosion inhibitors, and antioxidants to provide the optimum performance.
Plant managers should rely on OEM recommendations or the expertise of their lubricant supplier to determine the optimal hydraulic oil for preventing rust, corrosion, and wear.
