Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1356397
www . machinerylubrication.com | March - April 2021 | 17 www . machinerylubrication.com | March - April 2021 | 17 ML TESTE TED. D. D TRUSTED. D. D RUE. TRUS T INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL Lubricants Lubricants INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL From the production line to the bottom line, STARFIRE Industrial products keeps business running smoothly. STARFIRE1.com 888-258-8723 PRODUCT INFO the utmost of their abilities to pinpoint areas for improvement. Let's boil this down to the two parties that should be reviewed and graded: the lubricant supplier and the lubricant selection committee. Understandably, most facilities may not have a lubricant selection committee, and the lubricant supplier may have been selected based upon ease or proximity to the plant. It's unfortunate that such critical roles are simply left up to happenstance or reverted to "the way we have always done it." Lubricant Suppliers In a previous article, I outlined the busi- ness case for why you should select a lubricant supplier that will partner with you on your reliability journey. is is a relationship that is of the utmost importance, especially as it pertains to getting the proper lubricant at the proper time with the proper support. In some cases, a supplier contract may be instated to target all these areas so there is an agreement of responsibilities between both parties. ink about your personal life and the amount of research you likely do prior to subscribing to a service or buying an expen- sive item. We typically gravitate toward the customer reviews. We read who had great service, who had a poor experience and what to be wary of when purchasing. If we were to review our lubricant supplier, what would a five-star rating even look like? What should they be judged against? ree critical items should be considered when deciding how many stars should be doled out. On-time Deliveries Perhaps the easiest metric to put in place is compliance of on-time deliveries. All lubricants are going to have a lead time associated with them, some of which may be up to a couple months depending on the type and where it is coming from. e impact this can have on our equipment is devastating. If we find ourselves in a situation where a lubricant is needed for start-up and the lead time is long, it often results in a suboptimum lubricant being used instead, and ultimately the machine suffers and the lubricant supplier takes the blame. Clear communication between delivery times and on-hand inventory needs to be had. Review the stated lead times in your agreement and cross that with the elapsed time between orders and deliveries. On-time compliance is a great leading indicator of lubricant inventory control and having the correct lube on hand. Support Most lubricant suppliers offer technical support with their products. Sometimes this support includes items such as oil analysis support (sampling and testing), training, field visits etc. If this support is relied upon