Machinery Lubrication

Machinery Lubrication July - August 2022

Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation

Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1475671

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 25 of 44

www.machinerylubrication.com | July - August 2022 | 23 ML ML locations over the years, along with inventory management software and the CMMS. So even though the company had invested in all this stuff, it was either tossed at some point or just vanished into thin air. Now, I understand that when it comes to parts, electronics and tools, things are typically tracked rather well (for the most part), but people tend to treat lubrication-related items as disposable. is is a big mistake. Our lubricants are assets, just like our equipment and tools, and we should treat them as such. is means that by implementing proper inventory control, we never have to ask "what's in the box." Inventor y ma na gement shou ld be approached in a lean manufacturing type of mind frame. We want to minimize loss and maximize effort. is lets you take control of your inventory, control costs and avoid unnecessary downtime. Just as with the manu- facturing process, there are key components that we have to start taking seriously: First-in-First-out (FIFO) When we are in the store picking up milk or items that expire, we typically grab the item that will last the longest or has the most prolonged time before it expires. We don't really have this luxury in our facilities. We already own the stuff on our shelves, so it is up to us to ensure that we are using the oldest items first so that we don't end up with old (and possibly bad) lubricants in our equipment. Know what you've got I often go into facilities and ask them where their lubricants are stored. en I get a tour of the facility, my guide pointing to random places: lean-tos with drums in them, shipping containers with random stuff piled in, a battalion of mechanics' carts or pallets just sitting outside in a yard somewhere. With everything spread around like this, it is next to impossible to know what you have on hand at any given point. Keep only what you need Why do we insist on keeping lubricants that we don't use? If you change from one supplier to a different one, either use up all the previous supply or just get rid of it. By keeping these no-longer-used lubricants on hand, you are facilitating (almost encouraging) cross-contam- ination. You're using up precious real estate as well. By having one centralized location through which all lubricants pass, you can more easily keep inventory and know how much lubricant you are actually going through. Know what you need If you know that you have 25 gear boxes that take the same ISO 220 lubricant, and they all hold 10 gallons of oil, it is pretty easy to go through 250 gallons if you are doing annual oil changes; but how often do you change the oil on absolutely every gear box? Do you need to have 250 gallons of this lubricant on hand all the time? Talk to your supplier/distributor about how often you do these oil changes and compare that with how often you receive lubri- cant shipments. You may only need to keep 5-55 gallons on hand to meet typical use. is is your minimum on-hand amount, and this technique can be used for all of your lubricants. Take measure of your bearings: how much grease they get and how often they get regreased; compare this to the way you receive the grease (tubes, kegs, drums, etc.), and you can get to your minimum on-hand amount. Know and control who uses the lubricants Knowing how to properly apply and handle lubricants is a skilled task. Just as you wouldn't send the average operator into the machine shop and expect them to be able to create parts on a CNC machine, you shouldn't expect random people in your facility to just know how to properly use and apply lubricants. Have your lubrication tasks performed by those who have the skill and knowledge to do it right. is ensures that the job is getting done by Taken on June 9th, 2022. Check out that expiration date.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Machinery Lubrication - Machinery Lubrication July - August 2022