Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/388231
Be Featured in the next 'Get to Know' Section WoULd yoU LIke To be FeATUred IN THe NexT "geT To kNoW" section or know someone who should be profiled in an upcoming issue of Machinery Lubrication magazine? Nominate yourself or fellow lubri- cation professionals by emailing a photo and contact information to editor@noria.com. creation of a lubrication warehouse. After the idea was proposed to upper manage- ment, it was determined that it had the highest return on investment of any of the 2014 budget requests. The company felt so strongly about the importance of this project that they wanted it completed by the end of 2013. The old lubrication warehouse was chosen as the location, and several modifica- tions were needed. A heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system was added to maintain a climate-controlled tempera- ture of a constant 72 degrees with low humidity. We chose a filtration system with 16 filtering compartments, tanks and dispensers. We are controlling the amount of oil being ordered, which was excessive. The inventory went from 177 drums of oil down to 50. This was accomplished by working with our oil supplier and implementing a "just in time" procurement system. We adopted the motto for our lubrication ware- house from Noria: "clean, cool and dry." Q: how does your company view machinery lubrication in terms of importance and overall busi- ness strategy? a: Lubrication has become very important. With the current industry trend of reducing costs to remain competitive, every avenue is analyzed. We determined that we were losing a great deal of money each year by not having a formal lubrication program. The oil was often contaminated before it even reached the equipment, the wrong lubricant was used frequently, different lubricants were used in the same piece of equipment, and equipment was allowed to run dry or was overlubricated. We believe that we are making progress in all of these areas and are helping the company improve its bottom line. Q: What has made your company decide to put more emphasis on machinery lubrication? a: An initial study on motor and pump repairs at the plant revealed that we were losing approximately $2 million per year due to improper lubricants. To become more competitive in the power generating sector by expanding the life of the equipment and reducing labor and generation loss, we needed to take a proac- tive approach. This is what initiated our program. www.machinerylubrication.com | September - October 2014 | 49