Machinery Lubrication November 2005

A significant cause of infant mortality in hydraulic equipment can be attributed to the failure of maintenance personnel to follow proper procedures, such as oil flushing, before startup or when recommissioning hydraulic systems after carrying out maintenance work.

General housekeeping and machine cleanliness are commonly overlooked components of a contamination control program. This article explains how to develop a good housekeeping strategy and cont…

Improving a company’s environmental performance will be most successful when there is a good business case to do so. This strategy provides opportunities for significant cost savings while encouraging positive environmental stewardship.

Many experts consider moisture accumulation in lubricating oils a chemical contaminant. As with particle control, maintenance personnel must take care to minimize entry of moisture to curtail damage within hydraulic systems, turbines or gearboxes. Keeping moisture out is not always easy, but with the help of desiccant breathers and other tools, it can be done.

Part of my job is to carry out benchmarking surveys at clients’ sites. This survey, referred to as the Lubrication Program Development Launch Phase, is a bird’s-eye view of the lubrication...

Bill Gray is an electrical maintenance reliability specialist at a paper mill in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Gray selected the Fluke Ti30 thermal imager on July 15, 2005, for use in inspecting...

Every operations manager is challenged to find ways to reduce operating costs while improving productivity. This objective places an increasing strain on staff and equipment. Is it possible...

Oil-Dri Corporation is a 64-year old company that manufactures absorptive and adsorptive materials at facilities in North America and England. Georgia (U.S.) has two processing plants for the...

A constant-level oiler is used to maintain the fluid level in a piece of equipment that naturally depletes fluid through use, wear, friction, misting or evaporation. As oil is depleted in...

In order to improve equipment reliability, one must understand the reasons why equipment can be unreliable. One reason for unreliable equipment is a poor lubrication program. Auditing a...