Getting serious about lubrication

By Ed Sullivan, freelance technical writer for Power PR

BRUSSELS, Jan. 9, 2012 (RISI) - Industrial facilities often believe they have equipment lubrication covered with existing tools and systems-from spreadsheets to condition analysis to sophisticated preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance (CM) programs. However, despite millions of dollars spent to improve machine condition and reliability, improper lubrication is still cited as the primary cause of premature equipment failure today.

"It is generally accepted in the lubrication community that 60% of all mechanical failures are due to inadequate or improper lubrication practices," states Kenneth Bannister in his book Lubrication for Industry.

More than 50% of all bearings failures are due to inadequate lubrication practices, declares the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. In another survey in a prominent plant management magazine, 80% of the respondents stated lubrication was a problem.

Yet such equipment failures continue to prove very costly in terms of lost production, labor, and equipment life. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "6-7% ($14 billion) of the gross national product ($240 billion) is required just to repair the damage caused by mechanical wear" that results from poor lubrication practices.

"Lubrication is the neglected stepchild of equipment reliability and doesn't get the attention it deserves," says James Wanstreet, the reliability engineer and lubrication department supervisor at KapStone Paper and Packaging's Charleston kraft paper mill in Charleston, SC.

As the limits of existing lubrication tracking methods become more apparent, separating lubrication from traditional PM and CM efforts to focus on lubrication reliability is increasingly being adopted as a solution.

Although technicians armed with a grease gun and human memory to track lube points do a stellar job with the tools they are given, lube points can be missed

Lubrication tracking methods fall short

The crux of the dilemma is this: performing lubrication seems elementary, and has been approached the same way for many decades. However, it is much more complex than it is given credit for when a single plant can have thousands of pieces of equipment, multiple lubrication points per piece of equipment, and multiple activities per lubrication point, each done at different intervals. From daily lubing, to semi-annual oil sampling, to yearly tank draining/replacement, the required lube tasks can number in the hundreds of thousands per year.

"With almost 500,000 lube tasks a year in our plant on almost 8,000 pieces of equipment from fans, pumps, valves, and turbines to gearboxes, hydraulics, and paper machines, it's critical that the correct lubrication get done without fail," says Wanstreet. "Lubrication is the life blood of plant equipment and foundational to keeping it working correctly."

While lube tasks are considered routine and often assigned to the newest techs at the plant, it is critical to get the right lubricant in the right place at the right time using the right procedure or technique, every time to ensure machine condition and equipment reliability.

Yet it is far too easy to miss lube points, mix up lubricants, or over/under lubricate when relying on traditional lubrication tracking methods.

Performing lubrication seems elementary, and has been approached the same way for many decades. However, it is much more complex than it is given credit with hundreds of thousands lube tasks required each year

To be continued ... Read Part II here.

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