Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1356397
18 | March - April 2021 | www . machinerylubrication.com 18 | March - April 2021 | www . machinerylubrication.com LUBRICANT SELECTION to make maintenance decisions or just general knowledge transfer, the responsiveness and compliance of this agreement should be tracked and measured over time. For instance, if the supplier is to provide oil analysis sampling and test results for critical assets each month, we should be tracking the compliance of this occurring. e same holds true if there are to be scheduled learning sessions as well as general responsiveness for technical support by phone, email, site visits or any other means related to the agreement. Contamination It's no secret that new oil doesn't necessarily mean it is clean or defect-free. We should have a process in place to test incoming lubricants to make sure they meet the standards set for lubricants prior to putting them in service. While the supplier may not always have direct control over packaged lubricants' cleanliness if they are not the point-of-fill, they do have some control to make sure deliveries are defect-free. One way this can be done is ensuring the fill- date is as recent as possible during reception. All lubricants have a shelf-life, and we want to make sure our supplier is giving us fresh lubricant in order to preserve the remaining shelf-life when it hits the plant. Reviewing the age of incoming lubricants, those that arrive dirty or wet, as well as those that arrive cross-contaminated with other fluids is a great metric to determine the quality control prac- tices of the supplier. If the supplier scores well in all three of these areas, they earn the five-star rating. Remember these metrics should be reviewed, and any discrepancy should be shared with the supplier to put a plan in place for remediation. Even so, this rating only addresses half of the equation—now we need to think how our internal lubricant selection committee should earn their five-stars as well. Lube Selection Committee Oftentimes, the responsibility of selecting a lubricant is done by someone who isn't as involved in the lubrication program as they should be. I've experienced lubricant selection ran solely by purchasing, whose main intent was simply to purchase the cheapest product they can, regardless of its performance. is line of thinking needs to end. If we are going to require our supplier to uphold their end of the bargain, we need to take our side seriously as well to ensure we are asking for the right products in the first place. Let's start with deciding who should be on the committee to begin with. e committee should be comprised of the stakeholders in the lubrication program as well as purchasing. Typically, you would want to have representatives from reliability, mainte- nance, management, and purchasing to make all the decisions needed in a quick manner. It is understandable that there can be overlap between roles and variance in the structure of facilities, so finding the right blend of personnel for your committee may fluctuate a little. e end goal is to let everyone have a voice in the process who should and to keep in check any "drift" away from a specification over time. e big three things that should be tracked for the performance of this committee are below. Selection review ere are many criteria by which a lubricant should be selected. Some major ones include: • OEM Approvals • Price • Availability • Brand Preference • Performance • Historical Use • Consolidation Sometimes the simple act of selecting a lubricant for use can become an exercise in