Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
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Q: What is the amount and range of equipment that you help service through lubrication/oil analysis tasks? A: When I came here, I made the decision to test only equipment that had more than 1 gallon of oil. For equipment with 1 gallon and less, it made sense to change the oil rather than test it. This left more than 300 pieces of equipment for oil analysis, ranging from air compressors and blowers to large engines and a wide variety of high-viscosity gearboxes. We have large centrifuges, two bio-solids dryers, fi lter presses, a cogeneration plant, digesters, bio-reactor equipment, a granular activated carbon (GAC) regeneration system, emergency generators, 37 clarifi ers and countless pumps. Within that, there is plenty of mechanical equipment for us to maintain. Q: On what lubrication-related projects are you currently working? A: We just bought a bulk storage system with individual pumps and fi lters. We're not expanding, just continuing to consolidate our lubricants. This year we committed to using a fi lter cart for high-viscosity oils. Since we have 37 clarifi ers with unfi ltered oil, it makes sense to perform an annual cleaning. Each of these clar- ifi ers holds as much as 18 gallons of oil. That's an expensive endeavor when an analysis comes back as "marginal." We know we can clean it and get it back to normal using the fi lter cart. We are looking at a payback of a single year in oil savings and extending the life of the oil by at least two years. Once our mechanics start seeing the benefi ts of cleaning vs. replacement, we'll work toward smaller carts to perform cleaning on some of our other smaller gearboxes and drives. Q: What have been some of the biggest project successes in which you've played a part? A: Within UOSA, I think our cogeneration plant is certainly the most lucrative. We use bio-gas produced from our digesters to generate 845 kilowatts 24 hours a day, seven days a week with an uptime of more than 90 percent in the past year. It's a small plant, but it's about 20 percent of our overall power demand. Over the course of a year, that's a substantial savings. Since I've been here, we've started a new GAC regeneration furnace, a new centrifuge and a new bio-solids dryer. For me, it was a matter of sitting through design and review meetings so that as a team, UOSA could ensure a good end product. Q: How does your company view machinery lubrica- tion in terms of importance and overall business strategy? A: On a scale of 1 to 10, probably in the 3 to 4 range, but not because they don't care. It's because they've delegated it to our level. Lubrication is a function of the mechanics and technicians understanding the importance of good practices and knowledge. My manager knows that it's important, and he is completely supportive of anything we do, encouraging us to continue, move forward and strive for lubrication perfection. Q: What do you see as some of the more important trends taking place in the lubrication and oil analysis field? A: I think fi ltering is key to a good program. I believe emphasis needs to be placed on fi ltering before changing the oil. At least then you can get all you can out of the oil until it no longer has the physical and chemical properties to reliably lubricate. Q: What has made your company decide to put more emphasis on machinery lubrication? A: Many of us have attended conferences where best practices and proper lubrication have been the focal point. We all know that good, clean oil helps make bearings and wear surfaces happy. It's been a long haul though. Some of this can get expen- sive, between sampling, sampling equipment, fi ltration and training. I think you have to fi rst fi gure out the real need. How many failures have you had due to improper lubrication, or is it a matter of increasing the life of your oil? This is how we are ratio- nalizing it. If a plant is having a lot of failures, then there is something wrong with the maintenance program in general. For us, we want to simply extend the life. www.machinerylubrication.com | January - February 2015 | 47 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 profi led 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.