Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1103301
10 | March - April 2019 | www . machinerylubrication.com "Back in the day, I wanted things lubricated, but it really wasn't a concern," Warwick said. "So, time went by, and when the opportunity came for me to be a supervisor, it was time to change." Prior to the shift, when there was a problem with a machine, it was relayed over the radios, but the maintenance department was not always the first responders on the scene to investigate the issue. "e lubricator we had would get there before we did," Warwick said. "We'd arrive and see it was a bearing failure. We'd break the machine apart and find fresh grease. We were lubricating just to say we were lubricating. We had no defined routes; it was just this guy taught this guy – this is where you walk, this is what you do and that's how we lived. For me, that created a problem because I didn't know where he was walking and what he was doing." A few years after the facility's initial assessment, Ingredion had several international plants adopt lubrication best practices with exceptional results. ese initial successes, in addition to influence from other Ingredion plants and reliability champions, led to corporate leadership setting a strategy for lubrication and improved asset management at nine North American plants. "It wasn't just this plant that made the decision," Mohn said. "Ingredion made the decision to move this way. en we started bringing in people to assess what our needs were and help make the lubrication program better. From there, we were able to grow and start making changes in our lubrication program at that time." Mohn, who has been with Ingredion for almost two years, believes his arrival at the facility came at the perfect time. "It couldn't have been a better time," he said. "e reality is, when I came in, the company itself had made the decision to focus on reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), and when you look at the foundations for RCM, one of those foundations is a lubrication program." With corporate backing, the Winston-Salem facility had Noria conduct another assessment in 2016. According to Mohn, the plant, including Ingredion employees and contractors, underwent an effort to change the culture through outside training, standardizing processes, knowl- edge-sharing and hands-on applications to promote reliability excellence. Working with Noria, the facility implemented a rigorous training program for both employees and contractors, resulting in five certifications in planning and scheduling; two employees becoming certified in vibration and infrared analysis; inception of a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) program; the creation of a reliability engineer posi- tion; redefining and hiring a new planner/scheduling position; and promoting Matt King, mechanical maintenance lead, into a leadership role to continue driving lubrication excellence. "My new role is being a guide for the mechanics," King said. "If they need help or assistance, I help them through that." e facility ported the engineering to special software for effective route management and key performance indicator (KPI) tracking. Noria's engineering also identified machines that needed modification and associated hardware. When the Winston-Salem facility had a scheduled outage in November 2017, it contracted Noria to send a team to help manage 14 pipefitters for three weeks. Utilizing Noria's training, the plant trained its team on how to commission the lube room and make machine hardware modifications, which the Winston-Salem crew undertook by outfitting dozens of machines themselves. "Training has been extremely valu- able, as you can't do the job correctly without the knowledge, and that knowledge inspires good work," Mohn said. "We know the filtration will pay dividends in extended lubricant and machine life, and we are measuring those impacts. Having an oil analysis program that is configured correctly to make actionable predictive and proactive decisions, coupled with having in-house capabili- ties to get immediate results, is extremely powerful." COVER STORY 10 | March - April 2019 | www . machinerylubrication.com