Tips to secure your lubrication maintenance
Here are a few tips that help you keep good order in your lubrication maintenance. They reduce the risk of operational disruptions and unplanned stoppages and is a key component of Preventive Maintenance.
THE RIGHT THING IN THE RIGHT PLACE
Focus on good order in both the handling and storage of lubricants. What is necessary should be easily accessible and have a given place. That makes the maintenance more secure and not person-dependent, since it makes it easy for everyone to do the right thing.
- have a dedicated lubricant store
- label equipment and products so that everyone knows what’s what
- give each type of grease its own sprayer and each oil its own can
- make sure that oil refill containers are sealed to keep dust and dirt out
NICE AND CLEAN
Clean up regularly. A clean, tidy store reduces the risk of mistakes and contains no contaminated lubricants, which can increase wear and lead to machine disruptions.
- prevent spillage using absorption materials and oil collectors
- clean around lubrication points and in the oil store
- clean and tidy a little every day, and do a main clean once a week
- set a standard and making sure it’s on a checklist
SUPPORTING PROCEDURES
Standardize procedures and decide where, when and how things should be done. Document the routines so it establishes a historical record of what has been done. This makes life easier in the event of sudden problems, but also in work on continuous improvements.
- make a to-do list for support and continuity, e.g. in oil changes, analyses, machine care and cleaning
- have control procedures to assure work on labelling, cleaning and good order
- include the measures in lists/standards in maintenance systems or in Excel so they are easy to find, follow and update
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Smart Lubrication
Smart Lubrication is a blog from FUCHS where we share our common knowledge about lubricants and lubrication.