Being a plant, maintenance, or reliability leader means constantly balancing production demands, managing tight budgets, and facing pressure to reduce downtime. Your efforts are focused keeping machinery running smoothly, yet lubrication often falls low on the priority list—until there's a failure.
The truth is, neglecting lubrication best practices is risky business. And the costs are greater than you might imagine. Improper lubrication and hidden faults can lead to unplanned downtime and revenue losses, along with accelerated wear and tear and shorter asset life.
Effective lubrication is mission critical. You can’t achieve operational excellence without it. Let's dive into the costs of poor lubrication management and explore best practices that can help you keep your equipment—and your operations—performing at their peak.
The High Cost of Making Lubrication a Low Priority
Improper lubrication practices can have costly and even catastrophic consequences for your operations. Sudden equipment failures incur higher maintenance costs and can result in significant revenue losses when production stops.
But there’s even more to the story. Lubrication issues can eat away at your assets’ value over time, resulting in years of asset life lost and more frequent replacements. These are just some of the ways you’ll pay.
• Unplanned downtime: Research shows that poor lubrication practices are directly responsible for up to 40% of equipment failures.
• Excess energy usage: In the mineral mining industry, 40% of the energy consumed is used to overcome friction.
• Reduced asset value: Contaminated, inadequate, or incompatible lubricants can lead to increased friction, heat, and wear, thus diminishing asset performance and lifespan.
Simple Lubrication Improvements Can Yield Big Returns
Even the most minor lubrication details and practices—which are often ignored or taken for granted—can have huge negative consequences. On the flip side, a simple adjustment can bring tremendous cost savings. Here are just a few examples that illustrate the impact of proper or improper lubrication:
• A mining operation realized an additional $20 million in asset value over five years after spending a mere $750 on a modification kit to seal up a drain port.
• Based on elevated vibration levels that suggested a gear mesh issue, a steel facility’s maintenance team discovered and replaced a leaking input shaft seal and changed the oil. These simple fixes saved the plant $50,000.
• Because the oil in a $150,000 gearbox was not routinely analyzed, the asset sustained catastrophic wear over a two-year period. The gearbox’s wear rate was found to be 261% faster than normal, with nearly half its value lost.
Apart from the cost savings that can be realized through lubrication excellence, you can also drive progress on safety and sustainability objectives. A proactive approach to lubrication reduces unexpected failures that could potentially result in accidents or hazardous working conditions. At the same time, by optimizing asset health, you can reduce lubricant consumption and waste while lowering energy use and emissions.
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5 Essential Best Practices to Achieve Lubrication Excellence
Effective lubrication management includes routine checks, but it goes well beyond. To achieve lubrication excellence, you need a comprehensive approach that integrates oil selection, storage, filtration, and comprehensive analysis that goes beyond red, yellow, and green. Here are five essential practices for best long-term results.
1. Proper Lubricant Selection
Not all lubricants are created equal. Using the correct lubricant based on the manufacturer's recommendations, equipment operating conditions, and environmental factors is critical. Lubricants must withstand specific conditions such as high temperatures, extreme pressure, or corrosive environments. The wrong lubricant can increase friction, accelerate equipment wear, and cause early failure.
2. Implement Training and Standardization
To build a proactive culture, you first need team buy-in and alignment. Ensure your team is trained on best practices and understands the significance of their role in maintaining lubricant cleanliness and equipment health.
3. Lubrication Storage and Handling
Improper storage and handling can contaminate lubricants before they even reach your equipment. Lubricants must be stored in a controlled, contamination-free environment. Containers should be clearly labeled, tightly sealed, and organized to prevent cross-contamination. Using proper dispensing equipment further reduces contamination risks.
4. Filtration and Contamination Control
One of the most common causes of lubrication-related failures is contamination. Employing high-quality filtration systems and maintaining them properly prevents particulate contamination and moisture ingress, significantly extending lubricant and equipment life.
5. Regular Oil Analysis and Condition Monitoring
Holistic oil analysis, conducted on a regular basis, is essential for detecting faults early and preventing excessive equipment wear and failures. You’ll get valuable insights into lubricant condition, contamination levels, wear particles, and more. By combining oil analysis with vibration and temperature data, you’ll have a comprehensive view of asset health.
Harness the Power of Data for Big Savings and Continuous Improvement
Successful lubrication programs prioritize best practices and regular, robust analysis. Teams can identify and respond to early warning signs before visible or audible equipment issues occur. Acting promptly on the data, while continuously maintaining clean and dry lubricants, will allow you to extend asset life anywhere from three to seven times its typical span.
The shift to robust lubrication practices doesn't need to be daunting. It’s much easier with dedicated support and technology that enables systems integration, monitoring, and predictive analytics. With expert help and insights, you can develop repeatable and effective lubrication processes and drive continuous improvement across your facility.
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