MACHINERY LUBRICATION- INDIA MARCH-APRIL 2020 | Page 25

MLI
tasks can be broken down into several
categories, including inspections, routine
relubrication, sampling, on-condition work
and one-off tasks. Each of these categories
will have important steps that must be
followed but can and often are assigned to
different craftspeople. This can be due to
the nature of the work or the manpower in
the various groups at the facility.
Inspections
The most common tasks associated with
lubrication are inspections related to
the lubricant level and quality, as well as
equipment accessories such as breathers,
filters, seals and other items installed to
aid in the maintenance of the machine.
These inspections tend to dominate the
total number of tasks in a lube program.
Operations personnel frequently perform
some of these inspections. The idea is that
operators will be around the equipment
far more often than other departments, so
these inspections can become part of a daily
round or checklist that must be completed
by the operators at the start of their shift.
This further distributes the workload and
allows for more departments to become
involved in the lubrication program.
Regardless of who conducts the inspections,
there is a tendency to overlook or “pencil-
whip” the inspection round. When you
do the same task every day, it’s easy to
become complacent and simply fill out the
checklist or document as if everything is
OK, rather than taking the time and being
cognizant as to what is actually happening.
To combat this, create metrics based on
the inspection results or reward those who
catch abnormalities during an inspection
round. This keeps each member honest
and can help make those performing the
inspections more diligent.
On-Condition Tasks
On-condition work usually is associated
with abnormal findings from an inspection
or test. Depending on how severe the
abnormality is, other departments may
be called in to fix the issue. Among the
most common on-condition task is the
topping up of a reservoir with oil. In this
case, the inspector has checked the sight
glass and determined the oil level is too
low for proper machine function. This
in turn creates an on-condition task of
topping up the reservoir to the optimum
level. The inspector may be the one who
adds the oil or may simply note this in the
inspection checklist to generate a task for
the lube team or department that handles
the lubrication.
Top-ups must be performed in a manner
that restricts the ingress of contamination,
while certain devices must be in place
to ensure the right lubricant is used.
This is where the greatest risk of cross-
contamination occurs, as it is very easy to
grab the wrong oil container and fill the
reservoir. Training and labeling can help to
mitigate this from being an issue.
Other examples of on-condition work in
a lubrication program include changing
breathers and oil filters that have become
saturated. An inspection can identify
saturation by either a gauge reading or
a color-change indicator. The inspector
typically will change a breather since this
is a minor task. However, a lube technician
or maintenance person may need to change
a filter, depending on how the system is set
up and whether the filter is a simple spin-on
version or a more complex drop-in style.
done by the lubrication or maintenance
team. On the surface, this task may seem
relatively easy, but there are complexities
that require a high level of knowledge to
ensure it is being performed properly.
Without training on utilizing a filter cart
and determining clean-up rates for the
equipment, the task may not be completed
with the desired level of accuracy.
Routine Work
The routine work of periodic relubrication
is sometimes divided into different
departments based on what is being
relubricated. For instance, many plants
rely on electricians to regrease electric
motors, while others believe this is best
done by the lube team. Some facilities
prefer that operators carry out all regreasing
tasks, with maintenance or lubrication
personnel performing all the oil changes.
These tasks can be distributed to different
teams, but the best results often are when
a single team owns the work. This allows
more accountability to ensure the work is
accomplished and makes it easier to train
those who are involved.
For routine work, the simplest relubrication
task is the lubrication of total-loss systems.
These typically are chains or slideways
which require a simple spray of oil or
grease. Since the total charge of lubricant
eventually is lost to the machine and these
devices are completely exposed to the
environment, cleanliness generally is not
much of a concern, as it is not controllable.
A not her on- c ond it ion t a sk i s
decontaminating a reservoir by utilizing a
filter cart. The trigger for this task comes
from an oil analysis test result. An oil
sample has been extracted and sent to
the lab, with the results indicating a high
particle count. The lube tech now must take
the filter cart to the system, attach it and
filter the oil until the desired cleanliness
level is achieved.
Using filter carts and attaching them to a
system generally is regarded as a task best
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