Machinery Lubrication

Machinery Lubrication November December 2015

Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation

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Samarco Samarco is a privately owned Brazilian mining company that produces iron-ore pellets. In 2010, the management team decided to drastically change their lubrication practices, as they realized this was an area in need of improvement that could bring great results. Their plan involved several changes, with one of them being a new lube room. In early 2014, Samarco began making modifications. By the end of the year, the new lube room was completed. However, it is now more than just a lube room. With a training room and a modern onsite laboratory, it was designed to hold the lubrication technicians and all members of the team. Previously, the lube room was partially open and exposed to a very dirty environment. Access to the room was not controlled. Lubri- cants were poorly handled, and funnels and buckets were often used. New lubricants were not sampled or filtered before use. There was a lack of receiving proce- dures, quality control and spill containment. Breathers were not used on drums or containers of new lubricants. One filter cart was utilized to filter all types of lubri- cants, and it only removed particles and did not have the right filters for the task. New oils that were filtered were stored outside. The onsite laboratory had old equipment and could only perform a few tests. In addition, the lab had no ventilation, and several chemicals were stored inside. Lubricant identification was also poor, as unmarked oil and grease drums were frequently seen. After all the changes were made, the new lube station featured different rooms for the treatment of used oil as well as for receiving and treating new oil. New oil is pumped through hard piping to the treatment room. Now only the filtration technician has access to the treatment room. There is also a Samarco's old lube room was partially open, and access to the room was not controlled. Previously, new oils that were filtered were stored outside. Before the improvements were made, only one filter cart was used to filter all types of lubricants. ML Lubricants were poorly handled, and funnels and buckets were often used.

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