|
Transitioning to a New Lube Supplier
Mike Waller, Reliability Engineer, Cargill
I am going through this issue right now. First, the new company
needs to perform an equipment survey and then sit down with the
plant lead to agree on the type of lube needed for each piece
of equipment. This survey needs close inspection to verify correct
lube types specified. This needs to be rolled out to all of the
departments to get their buy-in.
Look at the lube that is currently being purchased from the outgoing
supplier and determine the replacement product for each type of
lube from the new supplier. Have the purchasing department make
the changes in their system so that as current inventories are
exhausted future purchases will be made from the new supplier.
Use all of the current inventory first so that as soon as possible
the mix of products is transitioned through to minimize the confusion.
Ideally as you closely evaluate lube for each equipment you can
do as much consolidating as makes sense and potentially will be
able to reduce the number of lubes being stocked and simplify
the system.
Implement a color/shape code system for all of your equipment
by setting-up a color for each lube type and matching that with
the equipment that will receive that lube. Tag each piece of equipment
and each lube with that color/shape symbol. Oil safe containers
are great for this with their various colors. Special consideration
needs to be made for people with varying degrees of color blindness,
that's the reason for tagging with shapes in addition to color.
Bring in the new suppliers to train your people on the new system
and about their lubrication. Develop a close relationship with
them and leverage their technical support capabilities to the
fullest.
See other responses
to this Readers Challenge.
|
