In the midst of the current economic turmoil, it’s not surprising that company boardrooms around the world are operating under the ‘Cash is King’ mantra. Efficiency and productivity are high on their agenda as a result. Now more than ever, plant managers are looking for ways to improve equipment reliability, optimize maintenance and reduce energy consumption. Often they are doing so by challenging the status quo and experimenting with new ideas. Retraining their staff to use effective lubrication techniques is proving to be another approach to obtain needed efficiencies.
The Lubrication Six “R”s
Using a superior lubricant will not prevent lubrication problems, nor will upgrading to new and improved equipment. The Molykote brand lubricant team encourages plants to consider the 6 “R’s” when selecting a lubricant team to accomplish maintenance and lubrication goals.
You could have a daily period, say the last 20 minutes of a shift, for cleanup and minor adjustment, if necessary of each machine. If you wait until the end of the week, dust, dirt, and lack of lubrication will affect the accuracy and quality of your products. For a schedule, check with the manufacturer of each machine. A proper maintenance schedule will help you keep a better track of all that is happening in your organization. Yearly maintenance schedules will also help you keep a track of all the work done in a year. Check them out! Machine Maintenance Schedule Template Free Download.
Right People
There are two groups of people critical to the lubricant team:
·The employees implementing the plan and
·The lubricant supplier team that ensures proper training and brings outside expertise.
·There are many lubricant logistics suppliers, but few lubrication experts. A good lubricant supplier provides the expertise, training and tools you need to properly maintain your production line. They should also offer a comprehensive product line that fills all your lubrication needs. Plant managers should expect a comprehensive suite of services from their supplier to facilitate lubrication management. If your supplier does not offer products and services tailored to help you achieve best in class lubrication and maintenance practices, find one that does.
Right Time
The old standard most plants use for lubrication intervals is time-based. Today’s plants use a mixture of new oils and greases, making dependence on time alone unreliable.
Let condition monitoring be your guide. There are many condition monitoring methods designed to optimize maintenance, such as oil analysis. Condition monitoring methods help optimize performance and minimize maintenance costs. They also help maximize equipment uptime and subsequent production capacity by aligning maintenance activities to reduce the impact to production demands.
Right Place
Site-specific applications impose their own requirements. For example, food processing equipment subject to daily wash downs requires gearbox and conveyor chain lubricants that resist emulsification. Knowledgeable lubricant suppliers understand such applications and know the right lubricants to use at the right place and time. Their expertise helps maintenance professionals avoid mistakes in lubricant selection and application that can shorten equipment life and unexpectedly halt production.
Right Quantity
Plants need to determine how much lubricant is needed and be sure that lubrication best practices are properly implemented. Dedicated lubrication management software is a powerful tool to schedule, supervise, and record a consolidated lubrication program. It complements oil analysis by collecting trend data and developing responsive lubrication schedules. A typical large plant requires the plant lubrication team to track a complex schedule of lubricants and applications. Tracking usage can be an important indicator of developing problems or misunderstanding of lubrication procedures.
Right Product
Suppliers best equipped to meet requirements for diverse lubricating solutions are those offering a complete line of industrial lubricants, not just a “wide range” of products. The full-line supplier must also be able to draw on functional additive technologies including anti-oxidant, anti-wear and extreme temperature additives.
Right Method
A thorough oil analysis program can track critical wear-related characteristics of oil in service by comparing the results with previous reports and noting the trends. This helps identify contamination, lubricant degradation, abnormal machine wear and problems with sampling. It can also incorporate activities such as vibration analysis, infrared thermography and ultrasonic monitoring to transform a lubrication program from time-based to condition-based, eliminating unnecessary changes.
The Right Track
Many lubrication suppliers have begun to offer tools to help customers understand savings potential. For example, the Molykote Energy Saving Calculator was created to help plant managers understand potential energy and emissions savings through proper lubrication techniques. This calculator, which can be found at www.molykote.com, allows the user to adjust different entry options, power values and costs in order to simulate plant operation conditions.
Summary
Discovering where plants can be more efficient plays a great role in a successful lubrication system. Molykote lubrication suppliers and other high-quality lubrication suppliers work with their clients to analyze troublesome pieces of equipment while looking for improvement areas which can lead to savings. With an effective lubrication system, plant managers can achieve longer machinery life and reduce down-time between planned maintenance to improve production performance and bottom-line profitability.
Preventive and regularly scheduled maintenance is vital to the efficiency and life of large machinery. Heavy machinery makes it possible for traditional industries to operate on a large scale. Mining and agriculture are among the global industries that could not exist in today's world at the scale they do without the use of large machinery to support their operations.
Benefits of Maintenance
Preventive maintenance preserves the value of the equipment. Keeping machines in good working order extends equipment life and keeps operators safe. It also ensures the availability of the machinery.
Early detection of problems allows repairs to be made before the situation worsens. Machinery that does not need to be taken offline for extensive repairs will avoid production interruptions. Regular inspections and analysis can be used to predict and prevent component failures that may create safety hazards and machinery breakdowns.
Safety
Good maintenance is important for worker safety. Large machinery maintenance can be dangerous. It is often conducted in close contact with running machinery. The conditions can be closely confined and unhealthy. The work is non-routine and subject to human error. There is often time pressure involved as well. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that 15 to 20 percent of industrial accidents and 10 to 15 percent of all fatal industrial accidents are related to maintenance operations.
Preventive maintenance and scheduled equipment overhauls can diminish the chances of large machinery breakdown and thus lessen the risks that technicians face in onsite repairs. Accidents in the workplace are also significantly reduced.
Following are five tips for large machinery maintenance.
1. Keep Daily Records of Use and Oversee Operation
Large machinery wear and breakdown are often made worse by unskilled handling. Keeping records of machinery use and monitoring daily operations can help pinpoint when and where the machinery is being used by inadequately skilled operators.
A new way to oversee the operations of large machinery is via GPS. The device tracks movement and records it in digital records, which are organized to be easily retrieved. Problems can be caught early, and breakdowns can be prevented.
2. Maintain a Schedule of Planned Maintenance
Components break down, and wear is inevitable. Establish forecasts for the expected life of all components and replace them on schedule. Part replacement must be done by knowledgeable technicians.
Bearings are key components of heavy machinery equipment and can be easily damaged or worn. Bearing housings should be regularly maintained, including inspection for corrosion and wear, and replaced when necessary. A maintenance log should also be kept to ensure regular checks are not missed and compliance is measured.
3. Lubricate and Clean Frequently
Working heavy machinery requires daily maintenance. Some components, especially moving parts in engines and power trains, demand frequent lubrication. Other components, such as hydraulic lifts and bearings, must be monitored and lubricated at the first sign of need.
Contamination can lead to machinery breakdown. Water is a major source of corrosion. Lubrication prevents corrosion. Maintaining seals and replacing filters will help keep lubricants free of contaminants.
4. Inspect and Monitor Components for Wear and Damage
A planned maintenance schedule can predict component wear. Visually inspect components on an ongoing basis to monitor wear and prevent equipment failure. Components that must be replaced ahead of schedule may signal a larger problem that needs to be diagnosed.
Check belts, pulleys and chains for alignment and condition. Inspect gears and sprockets for broken teeth, cracks and misalignment.
Fluid analysis should also be part of a regular maintenance schedule. Analysis of used lubricants and other fluids is an excellent way to diagnose problems and prevent machinery wear and breakdown. Identifying contaminants in the fluids can lead analysts to the source of wear and damage.
5. Protect Equipment During Storage
Large machinery should be stored under cover whenever possible. Motors, turbines, mixers and other equipment should be rotated frequently. Inspect idle machinery for rust, condensation and contamination. Don't forget to check all lubricants. Oil-mist lubrication is a good solution for the damaging effects of warm, humid environments.
About the Author
Jayde Ferguson writes for Statewide Bearings, a leading bearing manufacturer in Australia.