Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1480588
26 | September - October 2022 | www . machinerylubrication.com Factor: H2P Learn More: noria.com/ascend/ Factor: H2P – Handling and Application Devices Level: Platform (P) Stage: Lubricant Handling & Application About: Often overlooked, proper machinery configuration ensures that machines designed for generic applications match specific operational contexts. LUBRICANT HANDLING & APPLICATION More about this ASCEND ™ Factor Paul Farless | Noria Corporation Machinery Configuration Quick Wins that Optimize Machine Performance T he la nd sc ape of manufacturing and industrial processes is constantly changing. Historically, titans of industr y capitalized on large, cumbersome, overbuilt, sluggish equipment that had to be continuously maintained by a labor force that was paid an incredibly low wage. Modern industry is stressed to operate in a leaner landscape with fewer workers, purpose-built equipment and margins that, in many cases, are razor thin. is leads to improvement activities that get more and more out of less and less: more product and profit out of fewer people and with fewer failures or disruptions to busi- ness. In order to do this, practices and equipment both have to evolve to maintain pace with demands. Fewer items are more scrutinized than the facility's physical assets; we have to make sure they perform how they are supposed to, when they are supposed to, and for however long they are supposed to. For this to happen, many factors have to be balanced, and often the equipment may not be capable of performing to this level in its current state. A higher state of configuration must be achieved — an optimum state that allows maintenance, opera- tions and reliability to perform all necessary checks on the equipment without interrupting its service, all while maintaining or improving the inherent reliability of the piece of equipment. Changing the configuration of assets or modifying them to improve performance is not a task that should be taken on lightly. To best modify the equipment for performance, we would first have to define how we want the equipment to improve. You can define optimized performance in many areas, and depending on your organizational goals, the changes to the equipment would have to follow suit. What follows are some of the most common reasons for modifying equipment to increase performance. Increased Energy Efficiency You ca n save money a nd improve performance by focusing on how much energy the equipment consumes. is energy can be elec- tricity, diesel, gas, etc.; as such, we have a level of control in optimizing energy consumption compared to work produced. If we are focusing just on the lubrication realm of control, there are a few ways we can improve energy efficiency. Lubricant selection is the first step in this process. We need to carefully and deliberately pick which lubricant to use based on the equip- ment's needs and environment. A lubricant slightly too thick, too thin or without an appropriate additive package can translate into huge fric-