The International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML) recently named its 2015 Augustus H. Gill and John R. Battle award winners at the Reliable Plant Conference & Exhibition in Louisville, Kentucky.
Anglo American’s Minas-Rio mine in Brazil was selected to receive the Battle award for excellence in lubrication, while Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington Nuclear Generating Station was chosen as the recipient of the Gill award for excellence in the application of oil analysis.
“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of Ontario Power Generation and the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station,” said John Allen, first line maintenance manager at Ontario Power Generation. “Our program has given us an in-house oil distribution area and keeps guys up to speed on what oil is required for the equipment. We also have a new oil screening facility that allows us to do all of our analyzing in-house, which is a big cost savings. This gives us a good turnaround and consistency. We’ve also seen good results in detecting deteriorating equipment.”
Located just outside of Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario, the station has a generating capacity of more than 3,600 megawatts and provides nearly 20 percent of Ontario’s electricity needs, enough to serve a city of 2 million people.
The Darlington Nuclear Generating Station joins previous Gill award recipients Exelon Wind, Arizona Public Service (Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station), J.R. Simplot (Smoky Canyon Mine), Southern Company (Georgia Power), Rio Tinto (Kennecott Energy), Clopay Plastics (Augusta Plant), Great River Energy (Coal Creek Station), Energizer Battery (Maryville Plant) and International Paper (Courtland Plant).
One of the world’s largest mining enterprises, Anglo American purchased the Minas-Rio project in 2008 for the beneficiation of iron ore. Beginning in late 2013, the mine implemented a lubrication program to ensure proper lubricant receipt, storage, handling, filtering, measuring and application while avoiding contamination from the external environment.
The Minas-Rio mine joins previous Battle award winners Sinclair Wyoming Refining Co., Nissan Motor Co., Visy Pulp and Paper, Minera Yanacocha, Invista, Eli Lilly and Co., Cargill, Valero Energy and Clopay Plastics.
ICML congratulates both Ontario Power Generation and Anglo American, and wishes them continued success on their journey toward world-class status.
Both the Augustus H. Gill and John R. Battle awards are open to organizations worldwide independent of any involvement with ICML. Currently, there is no charge to participate in the awards process. However, in order to avoid bias, ICML has chosen a policy by which it does not nominate companies. Nominations must come from the companies directly via an application.
If you know of an organization that deserves to be recognized for its machinery lubrication or oil analysis program, encourage them to apply for an ICML award.
To submit a nomination for one of ICML’s recognition of excellence awards, visit www.lubecouncil.org and click “awards.” The online application form can be downloaded and returned as the required information is gathered. Supporting documentation can then be uploaded as the application is submitted.
