Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/325287
www.machinerylubrication.com | May - June 2014 | 43 Be Featured in the Next 'Get to know' Section Would you like to be featured in the next "Get to Know" section or know someone who should be profiled in an upcoming issue of Machinery Lubrication magazine? Nominate yourself or fellow lubrication professionals by emailing a photo and contact information to editor@noria.com. generator sets, 12 bowl mills, three large compressors, 12 large fans, 14 conveyor systems and a host of smaller equipment. We sample about 100 pieces of equipment. Depending on the equip- ment, these samples are taken in a range from once a month to once a year. We have another 175 gearboxes that are not sampled but are set up for regular oil changes. Q: what lubrication-related projects are you currently working on? A: Our team is now working on installing breathers. We are system- atically changing our breathers over to an acceptable type. At the same time, we are moving the piping to a cleaner and more accessible spot. We will be setting up a preventive maintenance program for checking and replacing these breathers. On our major equipment gearboxes, we are piping in suction and discharge lines and adding quick couplers. We will locate these at convenient locations so that we can hook up our filter carts quickly and safely. This will eliminate the use of hoses that could be damaged or cause tripping hazards. Q: w hat have been some of the biggest project successes in which you've played a part? A: Our first big challenge was to clean 30 years of grease off the oil room floor, get rid of the barrels, replace them with totes, and then keep the room clean and neat. The oilers do not go home at quit- ting time until the oil room is cleaned up from the day's work. This includes washing the floor every day at the end of the shift. The oil room must be as clean as or cleaner than it was in the morning. The oilers do this as part of their daily routine. Q: How does your company v iew machiner y lu brication in ter ms of impor tance and overall busi- ness strateg y? A: The SaskPower management team has supported our undertaking at PRPS. They feel that clean oil, oil analysis and vibration analysis will pay for itself over and over in the future. Just think of the satisfaction of knowing which equipment needs attention and which ones are going to fail. We can plan to repair equipment when we want to schedule it instead of when it breaks down in the middle of the night. It is hard to put a cost savings to this kind of reli- ability program. It can really cut down the financial burden of emergency repairs. Q: w hat do you see as some of the more important trends taking place in the lubrication and oil analysis field? A: I am very excited about the clean oil and oil analysis move- ment. It seems to me that the time is here. Companies are now realizing the benefit of these programs due to many major break- downs and the unnecessary costs of plant downtime. Plant reliability is finally receiving the attention it deserves. At Poplar River, instead of ignoring the oil analysis data, we study it, take the findings and act on it before we run to fail. We now have more knowledge and support equipment than ever before. We are moving from the dark ages and starting to use the new technology that is available today. Q: w hat has made your company decide to put more emphasis on machiner y lubrication? A: At Poplar River, this need for change became very apparent with far too many unnecessary equipment failures. The management team started to listen to the people on the floor. As tighter budgets and plant reliability became more important, we were left with no choice but to improve equipment reliability and develop a strong oil maintenance plan. This was the best way to achieve this at a reasonable cost. As our oil maintenance program expands, our plant will continue to reap more benefits that will in turn last for years to come.