Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1504498
www.machinerylubrication.com | Machinery Lubrication Anniversary Edition | 7 Without clear and easy-to-read labels, lubricant mixing and misapplication run rampant in most plants, leading to unplanned downtime and potentially requiring an entire oil system to be drained, flushed and refilled. Lubrication Program Management & Optimization A fter the program was designed and operations began, Matt and Kevin had to determine how they would manage the program together. e plant is split into two halves of production — pre-kill, where raw ingredients are introduced, and post- kill, where any remaining bacteria in the ingredients has been killed off. To minimize cross-contamination bet ween these t wo sides, Matt and Kevin familiarized them- selves with all lubrication tasks across the plant and switch sides day to day. at way, if one of them leaves or goes on vacation, the other will be able to perform all necessary lubrication tasks with ease. W hile their lubrication progra m is running smoothly, Matt and Kevin are always improving. They log in to their LubePM TM online portal regularly to review Ascend TM Assessment data and check in on progress toward larger program goals. Recently, Blue Buffalo expanded the R ichmond pla nt to meet dema nd a nd increase production capabilities, leading to an increase in lubrication points. To maintain efficiency as production increases, t he pla nt is look ing into purcha sing more automatic lubricators and an FTIR machine to help inform their proactive maintenance strategy. Winning the John R. Battle Award Blue Buffalo's Richmond plant applied for the 2021 John R. Battle Award for lubrication excellence, showcasing their dedication to best practices and continuous improvement. e plant was recognized as the winner of the award at Noria's Reliable Plant Conference in Louisville, Kentucky in October of 2021. According to Megan, the award did more than just recognize their contributions to the success of the plant — it also brought more awareness to the company as a whole to the importance of lubrication. "If you don't 'grow up' around lubrication in your career, you kind of take it for granted. It's easy to just assume someone is out there doing it — it's very much an unsung hero of reliability, so once we heard what Matt and Kevin were being recognized for, it was shouting it from the rooftops from there on." Kevin and Matt are proud of what they've been able to achieve, but the benefits aren't just limited to cost reductions or reliability improvements that help the plant's bottom line. ere are personal victories as well. "With ever y thing being so consis- tent and routine, it minimizes the chance for c at a st rophe s to happen overa l l, including during the off-hours — so we don't have to constantly worr y about getting a phone call or a text to come in on a weekend or an off-day and solve an unexpected problem." Advice for Others We asked both Kevin and Matt about the advice they would give to others who are looking to build and sustain a successful lubri- cation program. For plants who are getting started developing a world-class program, Matt recommends starting by looking at asset criticality. Assess your most critical assets and prioritize improvements from there. Try to demonstrate a quick win by fixing an issue with one or two machines and share the results with the team to get buy-in on larger improve- ment projects. Kevin recommends modifying important gearboxes with breathers, sample ports, color- coded stickers, column sight glasses and the rest so that operators, inspectors and lubrication teams can catch warning signs earlier and avoid contamination or accidental lubricant mixing. But most of all, Kevin said that to him, lubrication is all about consistency. "Do it the same way every time — like taking samples, for instance; you know you are getting good baseline results when you are consistent in your procedures. If one month you keep the sample bottle protected from dust in the air with a plastic bag while you sample, but next month you leave the cap off of the sample bottle and don't protect it at all, your oil analysis results will be skewed and useless for making informed decisions." The Blue Buffalo Richmond plant continues to achieve reliability improvements through their dedication to lubrication best practices and hopes to encourage other plants to do the same. Blue Buffalo's Joplin plant is already in the process of undergoing similar improvements, but the Richmond plant isn't done yet. "We know this is just the start of the celebration — not the finish line," Megan told us. "While we are a 450,000 square- foot operation today, in the near future we will be significantly larger — and it's because of the foundation these guys have built that enables us to make those investments and continue our reliability journey." ML ML Blue Buffalo receiving the Battle Award at Reliable Plant 2021.