24
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November - December 2017
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www
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machinerylubrication.com
The lube room at the Michigan City generating
facility was old and needed to be updated.
Individual pumping systems and inline filtration
are now employed at the Michigan City plant.
NIPSCO
Located on the shores of Lake Michigan,
the Michigan City and Bailly generating
stations are coal-fired power plants which are
owned and operated by the Northern Indiana
Public Service Co. (NIPSCO). Both facilities
had been using older lube rooms and needed to
update their lubricant storage and dispensing
systems. A single transfer pump was being
utilized to remove oil from drums, and filtra-
tion of new oil also was not standardized.
NIPSCO sought reliability improvements.
e company worked with its lubricant distrib-
utor to improve its lubricant storage and
handling practices. Maintenance personnel
learned that proper lubricant handling can be
a critical step in equipment reliability.
The new oil storage rooms employ
individual pumping systems to eliminate
cross-contamination of lubricants. Inline
filtration and desiccant breathers help to
ensure oil cleanliness. Oil and grease inven-
tories were consolidated, and wall charts have
been updated to clearly display equipment
and product names. A safety cabinet was also
purchased to store sealed lubricant transfer
containers, which are dedicated by product and
used for handling smaller oil quantities. While
work continues on labeling equipment fills
with the correct lubricant nametags, consider-
able progress at both facilities has been made
with excellent results.
LUBE ROOM CHALLENGE
After
Before
