MINING IN FOCUS
COUNTER THE TOTAL
COST OF OWNERSHIP
The application of lubricants prevents downtime and reduces the total cost
of ownership, writes Anton Niemann.
I
n any business, time is money, and this ideology
stems across multiple industries. It is for this reason
that downtime caused by equipment failure and
breakdown can result in fi nancial losses that many
simply cannot aff ord. This lends to the idea that
machinery should be in a constant state of perfect
operation and that prevention surely is better than cure.
When evaluating the eff ect of lubricants on TCO, we
consider the end to end impact on maintenance budget
and processes, but also any costs related to lost production
The belief is that apart from the moving parts of a machine,
there is potential for lubrication to deliver even greater
business value by contributing to improving machine
productivity, and therefore reducing associated running
costs. However, the potential impact of lubricants is often
signifi cantly underestimated. Understanding how lubricants
contribute to total cost of ownership (TCO) is the fi rst step to
realising potential savings.
With equipment exposed to the elements and working all-year round in harsh conditions, they are particularly susceptible to contamination which
could see vital machinery grind to a halt.
44
African Mining November 2019
www. africanmining.co.za