Three years ago, Woodgrain set out to slash their downtime and increase machine reliability. This area was creating significant difficulties for the company, and historically, their maintenance program was operating primarily based on tribal knowledge.
Woodgrain wanted to change this and develop a purposeful maintenance and reliability culture that enabled increased trust and communication between management and the small three-person lubrication team. Additionally, the company sought to update and enhance the overall job experience to be more positive and, quite frankly... easier.
An Impressive Implementation
The team's efforts, including the lubrication technicians' impressive hard work and commitment to the project, proved to be a key component of Woodgrain's success, and their accomplishments are reflected in the numbers. According to downtime data from 2021 to 2024, they have saved approximately $365,000 by avoiding downtime related to contamination-related failure since making changes. They have also realized another $290,000 in savings by preventing bearings-related failures.
"Since the changes, I really look forward to going to work because I know I'm part of an effective maintenance team that allows my facility to be profitable and to be around for the future," said Woodgrain Lead Lubrication Technician Kevin Ingerson.
Additionally, the company reported 3,500 downtime minutes in its bearing equipment class in 2021. In comparison, only 495 downtime minutes were reported in 2023. Recognizing the success of these initiatives, Woodgrain management is now 100% committed to supporting the company's lubrication team as they complete their remaining reliability initiatives.
"Training helped improve the understanding of 'why' we need to change our practices and create buy-in," said Jacob Johnston, Maintenance Planner and Scheduler at Woodgrain and Noria Lubrication Champion. "We have procured and installed the proper tools and technology. This includes adding filtration systems, as well as bolstering our headspace protection on many of our large hydraulic systems." Additionally, Johnston commented he has seen a notable and positive culture shift among the maintenance staff since improving these processes.
How It All Began
After working with Noria to develop an initial ASCEND™assessment in 2018, Woodgrain identified the gaps in their lubrication program and concluded that for every hour of downtime, the plant was losing $9,000. A few years later in 2021, Woodgrain found themselves at a critical juncture – their seasoned staff was retiring, taking their knowledge right out the door with them.
Recognizing that a lack of documented procedures and a chronic contamination problem weren’t sustainable, the team chose to act. They turned their focus to reducing this downtime and improving the return on investment (ROI) of their program.
A New Lube Room
Woodgrain understood that a clean, well-organized, and high-tech lube room had the potential to positively impact both equipment reliability and team culture. With a lube room update at the top of their list, Noria and Jacob Johnston began addressing critical lubrication challenges, including lubricant selection, consolidation, and written procedures. The team also collected inventory data and space specifications.
Their decisions resulted in a custom-built, modular lube room that met the needs of the lubrication program, along with a few perks for the team. The final design boasts a climate-controlled space with OilSafe fireproof cabinets, 55-gallon drumwork station, an oil analysis station, and a workstation for route management.
"The redesigned lubrication room has made a positive impact on our daily tasks by making everything more organized, cleaner, and efficient," said Ingerson.
Selecting the Lubricants
Reducing the number of on-site lubricants can feel like an overwhelming process when a plant has thousands of lube points, as is the case with Woodgrain's facility. The team leaned on their partnership with Noria, which provided consolidation recommendations to optimize their list without negatively impacting facility operations or compromising the equipment’s lubrication effectiveness.
The Woodgrain team now labels, tracks, and filters all oils, stores supplies properly in a clean environment, and has new written procedures. These detailed procedures outline all application and relubrication activities and are organized by equipment type, environment, and component accessibility.
Johnston indicated that this improved process has become the new norm, stating, “This is just the way we do things now, so the conversations and success have been great.”
Safety has also seen considerable progress, a welcome by-product of the new lubrication program implementation. Johnston explains that where the team used to haul 55-gallon barrels across the plant with a hand truck, they now use an OilSafe transfer skid, which has not only increased team member safety, but boosted morale. “They just jump on their cart, hook up to the tank, pump it in there, and they’re done,” said Johnston. “Plus... It’s all filtered in and out.”
The reduction in lubrication-related failures has also contributed to safety. According to Johnston, reducing failures also reduced the unplanned activities associated with them, which is where most injuries usually occur.
Focusing on Fixes
Guided by Noria’s initial ASCEND™assessment, the Woodgrain team elected to focus improvements and modification efforts on their hydraulic systems first. Hydraulics were prioritized due to their significant downtime, associated costs, and the large volume of oil needed if these systems were contaminated. Lubricant filtration systems with inline particle counters and desiccant breathers were installed on all their hydraulic units in the plant.
Since doing so, the team has seen a significant reduction in failures and downtime with this equipment, subsequently giving the team additional time to improve the mean time between failures on bearings and other equipment classes.
Investing in Oil Analysis
Once the team had identified its largest opportunity for improvement (contamination), they also added a few more tools to combat it. Specifically, they invested in a new on-site oil analysis lab. The team can now make informed lubrication decisions using data analyzed by its lab.
Samples are taken from installed oil sampling ports that are compatible with vacuum sampling devices. This keeps the samples from being exposed to environmental contaminants, reducing the amount of contamination that is introduced during sampling and ensuring that their samples are representative of what’s going on inside their machines.
Woodgrain's lead lubrication technician is dedicated to their lubricant analysis program, taking monthly samples that the team can regularly monitor for solid contaminants and moisture. Written procedures are also in place for sampling, including how to flush sampling equipment and properly handle samples throughout the process.
Platforms and Technology
To schedule lube tasks and measure key performance indicators (KPIs), the team began using LubePM, Noria’s Lubrication Management System. This cloud-based software platform delivers real-time alerts from inspections and tracks the lube technician's time, as well as the amount of grease and oil used.
The team also installed a condition-based monitoring system by deploying sensors throughout the mill. These devices monitor bearings and motors and have already begun paying for themselves. Since installation, these sensors have indicated lubrication issues that the team was then able to resolve before these relatively small issues developed into larger problems. With plans to install more sensors on maintained assets, the team estimates they have already seen nearly $500,000 in downtime savings.
Training as a Team
From left to right: Les Patterson (Lubrication Technician), Mike Thurston (Lubrication Technician), Kevin Ingerson (Leader Lubrication Technician).
The team has also partnered with Noria to begin training and preparing their members for the MLT I certification, and management is committed to providing its staff with training to obtain the necessary certifications. Establishing this common base level of understanding will help ensure that the team’s new program is sustained because everyone will have an understanding of why it’s important.
What's Next?
Johnston believes other plants in the company should implement a lubrication excellence program like theirs. With management 100% bought in, and nearly two years of transformative work in the books, Johnston reflected on his team’s progress. “We are seeing the culture shift among the maintenance staff. This reliability team functions together. The team may have technology specialization, but communication is clear between members.”
"With the full implementation of the lubrication program we've been able to create a more consistent and efficient system," added Ingerson.
Johnston says there are plans to attend industry conferences, like Reliable Plant, which will see professionals in every industry gather in Chicago from June 2-5, 2025, to help further their knowledge and share their own experiences. They also recently implemented ultrasonic greasing and plan to expand their use of vibration analysis, as well as maintain a continuous training schedule for additional team development.
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