Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/490438
40 | March - April 2015 | www.machinerylubrication.com tickers or lube identification tags have been employed for years to guarantee the right lubricant is put in the right place. However, few organi- zations utilize lube tags to their full potential, while some fail to use them at all. These simple devices not only can help ensure the proper lube is being used, but if managed correctly, they can also improve machine reliability. A good tagging system is frequently overlooked as a key part of a world-class lubrication program. There are many solu- tions on the market for color-coding devices that are commonly used in a lubrication program. Some of these include top-up containers, filter carts, grease guns, totes, pumps and other similar products. Although color-coding is a great practice, simply using a color for a single lubricant is often ineffective. With most facilities having more than 10 different lubricants, it can become difficult to distinguish between subtle differences in color, and more clarifi- cation is needed. Some organizations have taken the additional step of utilizing a symbol along with a color to specif y a particular lubri- cant for an application. By adding a second identifier, such as a shape scheme, you can exponentially expand the number of unique color and shape combinations to suit the amount of lubricants in your facility. For example, if you were to only use yellow to identif y a particular gear fluid, you are limiting the color yellow to a single application. If you were to use yellow and a shape, such as a square, you can then employ yellow for other applica- tions, provided that you utilize a different shape combination. While using a combination of shapes and colors is an excellent approach, it can be hindered by a lack of creativity. One common practice that should be avoided is simply utilizing the lubricant's product name to label the component in question. If the lubricant supplier changes the name of the product or your facility switches lubri- cant brands, this type of labeling system would be rendered useless and each machine would need to be relabeled. This would require constant monitoring of lubri- cant names along with increased manpower, especially when product names change. The best practice is to employ a generic system that doesn't rely on product names. One solution that provides much more information than most simple lube tags is Noria's Lubricant Identification System (LIS). In the center of the LIS tag is the lubri- cant's ISO 6743 designation. This designation explains the formulation, base oil type and applications for most lubri- cating oils. Also listed on the tag is the specific viscosity grade and base oil type for each lubricant. In addition, each viscosity grade has its own color that can be stan- dardized throughout the plant. For oils, the LIS tag is square-shaped, while for greases the tag is round. The LIS system incorporates all the best practices for tagging and does not employ in the trenches We s cA sh | Nori a Corpor at ioN l u b r i c a n t s t o r a g e a n d h a n d l i n g AdvAntAges of Using lube IdentIFICAtIon tAgs S viscosity grade general form (shape) to identify lubricant type (oil) Iso 674 3 lubricant classification Alphanumeric code for lubricant identification general form (shape) to identify lubricant t ype (grease) Alphanumeric code for lubricant identification viscosity grade consistency number thickener type Examples of LIS labels for oil and grease " " A lube tagging system is a great way to mitigate failures caused by lubricant cross-contamination as well as introduce barcodes or similar items into the field.