Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/147079
COVER STORY contamination control and improved lubrication practices strategy on all presses with this design. A New Style of Preventive Maintenance At this early stage in the program, Nissan's team had already tackled several of its biggest problems and had seen considerable improvement in both uptime and employee morale. Moving on to focus on other important issues, the team evaluated the plant's preventive maintenance (PM) and decided to introduce a new style of PM that would offer clear direction as to what was to be inspected, which lubricant to use and how much, as well as provide Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tenn., has a footprint of just more than 5.4 million square feet. Grease guns at the stamping plant have been standardized, and only two types are now used. represented, the most critical lines were identified to be the recipients of this first wave of systems. With these systems in place, particle contamination was reduced between 93 to 97 percent, with a resulting downtime reduction of 54 percent. Only 18 months into its five-year plan, Nissan's program was still in its infancy. However, achieving this type of reduction in downtime ensured management support for implementing the To help eliminate the chance of contaminants entering the system through the breather port, old breathers were removed and replaced with a setup that allows quick-connects to be used to hook up filter carts and desiccant breathers. 12 | July - August 2013 | www.machinerylubrication.com pictures for easy identification. The key was to engage all the technicians to assist in this process. When PMs are generated and distributed, the technicians gather all the necessary information from the equipment and write it on the PM. They also add any additional information about the equipment that may not be listed and mark off anything that does not apply. Calculations are then made to ensure that not only is the lubricant correct but also the quantities and application frequencies. This information along with the pictures are put into the new format and released the next time the PM is performed. During the PM-optimizing process, Nissan discovered the majority of PMs stated the amount of grease in strokes. Because the plant had several types of grease guns, with each delivering different quantities per stroke, the risk of undergreasing or overgreasing was very high. Now, all the grease guns have been standardized, and only two types are used. One is a clear-tube grease gun, which is utilized for motor grease and high-speed bearings. The other type is employed for all other applications. Both guns are clearly marked with the proper lubrication tag. A grease meter is also used to calibrate each grease gun. How many cubic centimeters the gun distributes is marked on the pump. Each gun is given a specific three-digit number. A spreadsheet then keeps track of each of the guns so they can be easily identified and routinely calibrated. This decision was made due to the cost of grease meters and the number of grease guns needed in the facility. Onsite Analysis Another crucial component of Nissan's lubrication program is its onsite lab, which has proven its effectiveness in predicting failures