With expensive lubricants and the requirement for machines to operate harder and quicker, high-performance lubricants are in high demand. Oftentimes, we expect the lubricants we order to meet the viscosity, base oil, performance characteristics, and contaminant cleanliness standards promised at the time of purchase. However, believing that all the lubricants you buy always satisfy the requirements of your machines is a common pitfall for maintenance personnel.
The Importance of Quality Control Process
The process of formulating, blending, to delivering lubricants is a lengthy process. Lubricants pass through many stages where they could be exposed to contaminants. In addition, the incompatibility of oils can cause cross-contamination. Moreover, because most lubricants contain two to three different base stocks, a simple mix-up of base oils in the blend plant can create immediate problems. As a result, you need to understand the many challenges you may face before your lubricant reaches the warehouse. Finally, when the point-of-fill into drums occurs farther down the supply line, these effects can accumulate and become amplified.
Lubrication Excellence
To identify the starting point on the road to lubrication excellence, compare current operations with lubrication best practices. Once you spot the gap, create an optimal roadmap to focus resources, effort, and time on activities that deliver the highest return on investment.
Categorize lubricants based on their lifecycle and the impact of improvements on machine reliability and other organizational objectives. After starting the process, it is crucial to assess progress, keep the transformation plan on track, identify deviations, and ensure long-term benefits.
Noria’s Ascend™ has been developed as a step forward from the traditional radar chart which has been used to evaluate the lubricating process for years. It is aligned with the standard set by ICML 55.1 which is also aligned to ISO 55000. ICML 55.1 defines the requirements for your optimized lubrication practices for mechanical machinery.
Lubrication Lifecycle Stages
Ascend™ uses six lifecycle stages in the following order: selection, reception, application, management, analysis, and disposal. These stages cover selection, reception, application, management, analysis, and disposal. It considers the significance of each of these steps as well as the impact they have on lubricant quality, machine reliability, and asset management.
Ascend™ highlights the importance of selecting the right lubricant for the task, with performance matched to the machine’s requirements and operating conditions. But it doesn’t end there. Ensure it arrives in excellent operating condition, store it properly, and apply it to the machinery at the correct location and frequency.
Precision lubrication also entails applying the right amount of lubricant with the right instruments by someone who has the necessary expertise and abilities. Finally, lubricant contamination control and the use of lubricant analysis as a gauge for the status of lubrication and overall machine health are critical.
The lifecycle stages appear as angular wedges on the Ascend chart.
- Lubricant selection (S)
- Lubricant reception and storage (R)
- Lubricant handling and application (H)
- Contamination control and lubricant reconditioning (C)
- Condition monitoring, lubricant analysis, and troubleshooting (A)
- Energy conservation, health and the environment (E)
Management Levels
The Ascend methodology™ categorizes lubrication activities across the lifecycle into 40 factors. Each factor connects to one or more of the 12 areas in the lubrication plan.
However, you should note that these 40 elements do not all carry equal weight in creating and implementing the lubrication plan. We organize the elements into three tiers to highlight and clarify these differences:
- Platform (P)
- Management and Training (M)
- Performance Indicators (K)
Platform factors are the program’s foundation and are aimed at reducing risks, ensuring performance, and maintaining the program’s long-term viability. Meanwhile, Management and training factors enable the provision of the needed resources. Staff education and skill development activities are sat this level. These are the lubricating activities that all platform factors support daily. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) level tracks the efficiency and effectiveness of lubrication program activities and drives continual improvement.
Each factor in the chart uses a three-digit alphanumeric code. The first digit represents the Lubrication Lifecycle Stage, the second represents the stage’s factor number, and the third represents the Management level.
Using Ascend™ to Track Improvement
The Ascend™ method employs the Six Sigma methodology to help determine your lubrication program’s level of maturity. You compare this against the Optimum Reference State (ORS) set by ICML 55.1. Conduct interviews and take measurements to perform the assessment, which you will use to calculate your level of compliance.
Execution Plan
Based on the maturity of the elements at various levels, the Ascend™ Chart provides an ideal way of implementation. A score below 30% receives a red color, indicating the lowest level of maturity. Scores between 30% and 90% show yellow, while 90% or higher, the highest level of maturity, shows green. This color coding helps you focus on areas needing immediate attention.
Ascend™ is an ideal tool for building your transformational roadmap. It helps you prioritize aspects to address first based on lifecycle logic, relevance to business objectives, and plant reliability.