Hi guys. I'm a recently appointed maintenance inspector, and have been asked to develop a relubrication system for all our equipment. Does anyone have any advice they would like to share about setting things up.
I'm a welder by trade as so don't have much experiance with lubrication. I could do with advice about how to assess bearings and decide how often and what quantity of lube they need. Our plant is a cement factory, so if any of you guys work in similar places it would be great to correspond so we could compare experiences.
Thanks in advance.

I would proceed as per the following steps
1.Collect the maintenance manuals of each equipment and check on the lubrication page for lubricant spec. Pay attention to the required viscosity mentioned in the manual.The lubricant for the equipment must have the recommended viscosity for the temperature of the lubricated part. Some times a recommended brand name will also be mentioned. You can call the OEM too for recommendations.
2. Prepare two lists. On one list under heading #1 list names of equipment which have the same lubricant. On the other list under heading#1 list the brand name of the lubricant which lubricate equipment listed under #1 in otherlist
Similarly list all equipment under various numbers and list the lubricants under under various corresponding numbers.
3. With two lists, say under #1,in the equipment list, if we have Raw Mill, Cement Mill and if they have a common lubricant ABC, we will have ABC under#1 in the libricant list.
4. If we have Packing Machine and Kiln have the same lubricant xyz, our equipment list will have Packing Machine and Kiln under #2, and xyz will be under #2 in the lubricant list. When you have completed these two list you would have covered all equiment and the lubricant needed for each of them.
5. Get a half yearly lube oil sampling program iin place. A good lab should be able provide you info on how to install fittings in gear boxes and tell you how and where to take oil for periodic sampling. This may sell fittings and hand pumps for taking samples. They will also put up the oil analysis results in their intranet for you to view after proper log in.Hope this helps. Cheers

Jonny,

I would strongly suggest attending some training on lubrication and/or oil analysis. In England, I believe there are some opportunities through Noria, and perhaps some other organizations as well. There are also online courses available, but I think just starting out it is helpful to meet some folks and be able to ask questions. It can also allow you to take back some ideas and have some contacts to followup with later. I agree that finding a good oil analysis laboratory will really help, and I would suggest looking to partner with one that is not focused on high-volume low-cost sample analysis, but rather on supporting your goals to improve lubrication and equipment reliability.

Good luck.

Rich Wurzbach, OMA-1, LLA-1, CLS
rwurzbach@mrgcorp.com
MRG Power Labs
Brogue, PA, USA

Jonny,

I have worked as a consultant in a cement plant, and one of the things to consider as you develop your program is that fact that you typically will have access to a great instrument for analysis. Most cement plants have XRF analyzers onsite, and a good lubrication program can be complemented by obtaining a simple filter patch kit, and using the XRF to analyze the patch to determine what types of particulate you are getting in your oil. This is more of an advanced technique, but will come in handy if you are asked to assist in the evaluation of some equipment failures.

One of your biggest challenges is going to be contamination of lubricants. The lubrication training classes are typically very effective at driving home the point of the impact of contaminants on reduction of machinery reliability and life. You will undoubtedly want to take a careful look at the filtration and reservoir breathers on your most critical and costly equipment, as a way to make a big impact on reliability.

Rich Wurzbach
MRG Power Labs
Brogue, PA, USA
rwurzbach@mrgcorp.com

Many thanks guys. We are currently looking into using a lubrication manufacturing company (fuchs)to analyse samples, so thankfully the real clever stuff is out of my hands. What I’m after right now is a way of developing a greasing schedule. We have quite a range a equipment, as you can imagine, I have checked out some of the calculators available to work out re-greasing frequency and quantities, and was just wondering if anyone else has done this and planned a schedule from such a thing. My colleagues have very varied opinions on re-greasing, so I’m attempting to build up some info to convince them. I work on the philosophy that if a piece of kit has a grease point on it it should be greased, but some of our guys would leave it until breaks and others would pump away until seals popped, So we are in dire need of a set plan. Thanks for the tip about Noria I'm just off now to take a look at there site.

Who is your oil supplier. They or major ones have real lubrication engineers and generally will do a survey for you and make recommendations as to type of lube and frequencies regarding oil replenishment, flushing, filtering, etc...

When it comes to calculating grease lubed bearings calculation of quantity/frequency is a little more difficult. I make those calculations and have some papers (old and only hard copies that are smugged and need improving but none-the-less they are valid.

Else; go to an outside consultant. Exxon or Esso, Shell, Chevron are very good at helping I've found.

Firstly, congratulation on your appointment to Maintenance Inspector. I hope it is a genuine attempt by the plant to improve reliability and not just to have a scapegoat when it goes tits-up!
I don't know a whole lot about cement plants, having a mainly refinery background, but I suspect the majority of your lubrication is on motors and smallish pieces of equipment with anti friction bearings, and therefore grease lubrication?
Definitely read the manufacturers manuals.
The majority of smaller motors these days should have "greased for life", sealed bearings and therefore cannot be lubricated without dismantling.
Larger, greasable bearings, should not only have a grease nipple but also a grease drain, preferably on the opposite side of the bearing housing from the grease nipple. The idea here is that when you grease, you open the drain and pump grease until fresh grease appears at the drain. You then know that you have replaced the grease with fresh. If there isn't a drain, a couple of strokes of a standard grease gun is usually sufficient. Don't overgrease as this usually results in filling the motor windings!
For oil filled bearings, nothing like a sampling regime to check oil condition. Keep dash-pots topped up to recommended levels.
Large, critical, oil reservoir systems, again oil sampling and analysis is essential. Oil analysis should always include particulate analysis to see what, if any, metal or other components there are in the oil. This can give you early warning of component failure. For example traces on Antimony/Tin could indicate sleeve bearings starting to fail.

Where are you by the way. I'm down in Somerset.

Thanks again guys. most of the oil we use is Shell, so I will get in touch with them. We are in Derbyshire.

Hi Jonny,
Lots of good advice so far.....
A couple of things i'd like to share. Consider sitting down with the mechanics who have been performing the maintenance and ask them what they do? Document the information, you'll need it to develop your task lists later. The real answer to sucessfull lubrication programs is consistency. Even applying a bad lube consistently will keep the equipment working longer that applying a good lube very infrequently. Most of the cement plant equipment is slow moving with labyrnth seals and so overgreassing is not an issue (exception is the EM's). So pumping the bearings (while the equipment is running) until the grease purges bearing raceway and then the seals is a good idea to help keep the contamination from destroying your bearings. Oil changes on a regular basis are recommended until your program develops to condition monitoring, probably every 6 months to start.
Once you get the program details together you need to get the CMMS or some kind of software to manage your scheduling for you. All of the details that the oilers need should be included i.e. plant location, lubricant quantity and task duration and procedure. Sounds a bit complicated but it brings clarity and consnstency to the process and makes mistakes less likely. It also helps in follow up with failure analysis. If your thing was lubed according to your info and it still failed you have the basis for improvements..... there are lots of software packages out there i.e. www.generationsystems.com

hope some of this makes sence to you and helps...
regards......

Dear Johnn,

I think the thing to consider here more important the the frequency of regreasing will be determining the correct use of lubricant and grease, know the temperature, rpm, sealing compatibility and so on and check your lubricants specification etc.,

Try to experiment and place 5 types of grease in your maintenance bay, and select 5 people to grease the same equipment, will they select the same grease or randomly get their own choice.

How about greasing a bearing, when do you know that enough is enough.

And most importantly contamination control, how do you store your lubricants

If I will be assigned to your place these will be what I will be working at,

Steve Hopkins
Director of Lubricant Sales

Tel: 08701 632933
Fax: 08701 632933
steve@indlub.co.uk

80 Mortimer Street, Herne Bay
Kent CT6 5PS

Steve is a great guy and would be happy to work with you on assessing your lube schedule and setting up an appropriate lube program. With your welding background, you could manufacture racks for your bulk and intermediate storage. Steve can get you lube tags and containers as well.