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Showcase Your Lube Room
Dan Warren, Condition Monitoring Analyst,
Dow Corning Corporation, Midland Plant
In late 2001 our plant made a concerted effort to understand
and improve our lubrication practices: Our first task was to perform
building audits to see exactly where our opportunities were.
One area that jumped off the page was our building lubricant
storage issues, as well as the practice of getting the lubricant
from the drum to the machine. Along with the normal things that
are usually identified, (dirty drum tops, open top transfer containers,
drums open to atmosphere, etc.) we realized we had appx. $20,000
dollars in lubricant inventory sitting throughout our plant buildings
with very low turn a round.
There were also redundant lubricant supplies displaced throughout
these buildings. These areas were a headache for the buildings
to manage from a housekeeping standpoint, and the quality of oil
being put into our machines was suspect.
Our solution was to put together a single lube dispensing area
for the high usage lubricants used in the plant. (See photo above)
Our plant has converted to a high quality MolyKote(R) lubricant
product, so we wanted to make sure we are getting the most out
of our conversions.
The above picture depicts the lube station that was put together.
Drums are laid on their side, with units that have their own containment
built in. We also added level indicators as well as desiccant
breathers to maintain the cleanliness of the oils.
There are clean plastic labeled containers provided in various
volumes for the building to transfer the needed oils. We also
built specific building spreadsheets located at the lube station
so the buildings can come down, find their buildings spreadsheet,
locate the specific piece of equipment, along with the correct
lubricant identified for that machine. (One stop shopping.)
Another added bonus is, buildings were buying needed lubricants
in small volumes at added price. They now can come to the lube
station and pour down the needed lubricant. We found the purchase
price of drums is roughly 15-20% less than purchasing in the smaller
containers.
By consolidating to the Quality MolyKote(R) oils and improving
our dispensing practices, we are confident our plants machines
will run with a higher degree of reliability.
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