Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1336798
20 | January - February 2021 | www . machinerylubrication.com LUBRICANT HANDLING AND APPLICATION the current lubricants on site should take place to see if there is already a functional lubricant available to fulfill the need of the asset that will also aid in lubricant consolidation efforts at the site. Another machine configuration area to consider is contaminant exclusion and removal options available to help meet the asset's contamination control objectives. Understanding the asset's criti- cality, associated rebuild labor constraints, replacement part costs and lead time will play a pivotal role. Certain oil-lubricated assets in the plant will require dedicated, machine specific supply, return line, and possibly offline kidney loop filtration systems. Others may need dry instrument air purge systems with high end breathers to ensure proper contamination objectives are being met. Other less essential oil - lubricated assets may suffice with any OEM standards already in place. ere should be a similar amount of attention to detail regarding grease-lubricated assets, especially when reviewing bearing structure and other grease-related applications. One final consideration regarding early machine configuration is the lubrication-associated hardware outfitted on the asset. ese deliberations need to consider headspace management tools such as desiccant breathers, particle breathers, expansion chambers, dry instrument air purge and vent plug options. Oil level management apparatuses such as bullseyes, level gauges, dipsticks, level plugs and constant-level oilers need to be evaluated. Bottom-drain manage- ment options worth considering include BS&W (Bottom Sediment & Water) bowls, magnetic plugs, ball valves and quick disconnects. Expanded metal guards on sheaves and couplings as well as diffuser or baffle plates that mitigate the concern for air entrainment and foaming should be considered as well. e option for oil-sample management and standardized location selection must be considered in advance, especially knowing the ramifications of poor sampling practices, false positives and variability concerns. Finally, grease supply and delivery management in the form of fittings, nipples, grease line extensions and auto lubricators should be considered as well. All these important lubrication-specific options play a funda- mental role in asset lifecycle management and can be directly related to improved inspections, PM task completion and asset uptime. e amount of time, money and attention that is spent on each one should be directly correlated to the ORS of the asset in consideration. Wrapping Things Up By now, it should be abundantly clear that there is often a need for the pre-configuration of plant machinery to correlate to the specified operational contexts. is step is commonly overlooked in the acquisition process, and, if delayed, rarely implemented properly. is can lead to a reactive plant with missing or improper inspections and PM tasks resulting in increased machine repair costs and associated downtime. Understanding asset lifecycle cost and ownership, standardizing and optimizing machine configuration through documentation practices and knowing how to accurately and timely deploy these Machinery Configuration (H2P) consider- ations to assets will provide great insight and even greater results from this improved site "vision." ML References • Matthew Adams. Juggling Systematic Gap Reduction within Lubricant Handling, Machinery Lubrication Magazine, 2020 • Noria Corporation Machinery Lubrication I Training Manual. Tulsa, OK: Noria Corporation About the Author Matthew Adams is a technical consultant for Noria Corporation, concentrating in the field of predic- tive maintenance. He has experience in multiple condition-based maintenance technologies and focuses the majority of his attention on lubrication program development, training and general consulting. Matthew holds Machinery Lubrication Engineer certification (MLE) a Machine Lubricant Analyst (MLA) Level III certification and a Machinery Lubrication Technician (MLT) Level I certification through the International Council for Machinery Lubri- cation (ICML). Contact Matthew at madams@noria.com to find out how Noria can help you maintain the compressors at your facility.