equipment downtime, constantly replacing oil and equipment
failure due to lack of proper lubrication.
During this cost evaluation, Bunge had to decide whether this
project could fi t within the capital budget. It chose to move
forward with the clean room because the rate of return was suffi -
cient enough to be absorbed into the maintenance cost. The
actual cost of the project would vary depending upon geographic
location, building space, equipment need and other factors.
Research for the project began in August 2013. Construction
started in November 2013, and the project was completed
in April 2014.
Now, not only does Bunge have a clean, organized storage area
and proper ways of handling its oil, but it also saves a considerable
amount of time and money not changing oil and replacing equipment
that fails due to poor-quality oil. The plant can also foresee the
approximate amount of oil that will be needed ahead of time. Routine
predictive oil analysis indicates oil quality in the equipment and
determines if and when the oil should be changed to prevent damage
to machinery. Cleaner oil keeps the plant running better and longer.
Bunge's maintenance team is constantly moving toward best
practices and knows that without a means to protect the oil, it
could never achieve world-class status.
An open shelf holds the non-food-grade con-
tainers. The shelves are labeled to denote where
each of the containers belongs. Different-sized
containers are used depending on the amount
required and accessibility of each fill point.
This is the outside of the clean room.
ML
