Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1061099
www . machinerylubrication.com | November - December 2018 | 11 took up more room than necessary. ere was inadequate space for staff lockers and community cabinets for common lubricants and supplies. ere were also no areas of 5-S responsibility for cleaning and organizing the shop. e proper procedures for dispensing lubricants had not yet been employed to maintain quality standards. e lube room was soon relocated to an area that could provide the necessary fl oor space to improve the process. All secondary oil containers are now color-coded and tagged to minimize application errors when oils are dispensed. is process has also been extended from oil containers to grease guns and grease application points. Color-coded plastic washers have been installed under grease Zerks to correlate to the matching color-coded grease gun and grease. All oil drums and totes have high- quality desiccant breathers instead of being vented into the atmosphere. e 5-S policy has since been utilized to require everything be labeled and organized with part numbers and minimum/maximum quantities. ere are now PMs for inspecting and repairing automatic lubrication systems. Technicians are trained to inspect, trouble- shoot and repair these systems to ensure that adequate lubricants are reaching critical lube points while preventing overlubrication and leakage. Technicians also are trained to design and install the automatic lubrication systems. e St. Louis brewery essentially single- sourced a lubricant vendor, which helped to remove redundant oils and greases from the storeroom. is consolidation allowed the area used to store lubricants to be reduced. It also minimized the opportunity for mixing lubricants. As a precautionary measure, all new oils coming into the facility are analyzed and fi ltered to assure cleanliness standards. e magnitude of this initiative required personnel to work as a team to create and maintain the lubricant storage area. By sta nd a rd i zing lubric at ion procedu re s, consolidating to one primar y supplier, maintaining automatic lubrication systems and repairing leaks as they occurred, the plant was able to save money as well as reduce usage and waste. For example, in the last 11 years, grease usage has dropped by 83 percent, while oil usage has decreased by 82 percent. is has had a signifi cant impact on the brewery's processes and costs as well as the environment. ese eff orts have created more than enough savings for the shop to purchase the necessary tools and equipment to improve its lubrication processes and procedures. As a result of these improvements, the plant has managed to error-proof its lubrica- tion process. By fi ltering oil and using sealed containers, the cleanliness and quality of all lubricants have improved. e shop is now organized and maintained to the highest cleanliness standards. e mean time to repair for lubrication issues has been lowered considerably by having the right tools, equipment and training to do the job safely and in a timely manner. e mean time between failures has increased signifi cantly by reducing lubrication-related failures to near zero. T he A n heu ser-Bu sch InB e v tea m members are proud of the progress they have made and plan to keep working hard to maintain the standards that have been set. ey also are motivated to continue making changes and improvements until they reach the ultimate goal of zero lubrication- related failures. All secondary oil containers are color- coded and tagged to minimize applica- tion errors when oils are dispensed. AFTER WE HAVE A BETTER SOLUTION. 800-435-7003 www.ifhgroup.com