Machinery Lubrication

Machinery Lubrication July-August 2019

Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation

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COVER STORY At many reactive plants, the lubrica- tion program either languishes into decay or was never properly established. In the case of the Owens Corning facility in Aiken, South Carolina, a lube program was never implemented. e plant began its life in 1979 as a satellite of a neighboring Owens Corning plant. e main plant was sold in 1999, leaving the satellite facility without programs and processes — including lubrication. In reaction, a makeshift lubrication storage room was established, but it was nowhere near world class. For 17 years, the plant struggled awash in a reactive environment. Wetting the Whistle After retiring from a 20-year naval career in the nuclear power fi eld, I began working as a reliability engineer on one of Aiken's three production lines. My fi rst two weeks were memorable: My supervisor quit my fi rst day, and the plant manager was fi red shortly thereafter. I quickly learned that we were a fully reactive plant in complete disorganiza- tion. With that, I had free rein to improve my production line. New to the job, I needed to tackle small projects. A consultant introduced me to automatic lubricators. These motor-driven lubricators offer visual feedback, with a fl ashing green light indicating good, while a red light requires attention. We chose to place them on a system that was frequently experi- encing failures. When failures began to taper off , operators and maintenance asked for more. Adding Automatic Lubricators One of the facility's production lines incorporates four 24-inch hollow rolls. ese chilled rolls cool the fi berglass mat as it leaves the oven. e bearings that support these rolls feel the eff ects of the chilled water. A cooled 8 | July - August 2019 | www . machinerylubrication.com Photo By Mark Green

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