COVER STORY
Who Should Be
Your Lubrication
Technician?
By William Jacobyansky,
Strategic Maintenance Consortium
6
|
November - December 2018
|
www
.
machinerylubrication.com 6
|
January - February 2019
|
www
.
machinerylubrication.com
Ma ny indu stria l ma intena nce
departments put inexperienced
people in the position of lubrica-
tion technician. They make the
mistake of assuming that because
lubrication tasks appear to be simple that
being a lube tech is simple. is is supported
by human resources (HR) professionals who
seek gateways for maintenance personnel
and to keep payrolls as low as possible. is
article will discuss the benefits of having a
knowledgeable and well-trained lubrication
technician as well as the qualities you should
look for when filling this key position.
Not a Gateway Position
The work of an industrial lubrication
technician is seen by many as a simple job
that doesn't require specific knowledge and
therefore is not deserving of a high pay grade.
Because of this, it is often used as a gateway
to bring new people into maintenance. e
premise is simple: get motivated but inexperi-
enced individuals into the department where
they can start to learn about machinery and
maintenance skills while the company is able
to get production from them as they perform
simple lubrication tasks. e position is also
frequently used as a pre-retirement post to
entice a seasoned technician who nobody
