Companies seeking ways to gain operational efficiency and increase reliability often turn to technology. Increasing productivity with reducing operating costs has become a mandate for managers. Maintenance plays an important role in increasing equipment reliability through condition monitoring of critical assets, using tools such as oil analysis, vibration analysis, thermography, etc. Each concept or tool must often be sold to the management team, who is looking for a return on the investment.
Although the technology for automatic lubrication systems has been available for many years, there is a relatively large number of people who remain unconvinced, simply rejecting the use of these systems altogether for a variety of reasons, or perhaps waiting for more data to support their use and the impact they could have on their operations. Skilled craftspeople, like their manager partners, are generally overwhelmed with tasks and responsibilities that continue to increase as companies reduce personnel and seek lean strategies. Yet, when labor-saving devices like centralized lubrication systems are proposed, objections and observations are often put forth that contradict the proven reliability and relatively simple technology automatic lubrication systems provide. A lack of awareness of the actual return on investment system installations provide is prevalent. Even more telling is that those that have systems don’t understand why anyone would resist their use. In my opinion, the resistance to the use of lubrication systems stems from a basic lack of understanding of how these systems work. In fact, the many comments we receive as marketers, designers, and installers of automatic lubrication systems, as well as premium lubricants, suggests there are a number of objections that have no merit. While there are those that have a catastrophic story to tell, there is invariably a sound reason or set of circumstances that contributed to the failure that in almost every case could have been avoided.
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About the author:
David Piangerelli, CLS, MLT II, is the President of Lubrication Technologies, Inc., Serving industries of all types for 48 years.
