What is the state of your facility’s lubrication program? For many customers we talk to, it’s not exactly the picture of order and organization they wish it was. Over time, as maintenance staff members come and go, old machines reach end of life, and new machines enter the plant floor, causing disorganization with your lubrication inventory.
One of Agilix Solutions’ partners, Lubriplate®, is a manufacturer of industrial and food-grade lubricants with a history dating back to 1870. They help customers bring order and efficiency to their lubrication storage and administration processes. In this blog we’ll explore how Lubriplate’s processes and products can save customers time, money, and headaches while keeping their machines and components performing at peak condition.
4-Step Industrial Lubrication Color Coding Process
Industrial maintenance teams are often responsible for more tasks than they can accomplish in their day. As a result, equipment lubrication has a tendency to fall down the priority list until it manifests into equipment failure.
Lubriplate aim to help organizations avoid costly repairs and downtime by simplifying and improving plant lubrication maintenance operations for end user operators. The most significant way we do that is through Lubriplate’s four-step industrial lubrication color coding process. Here’s how it works:
STEP 1: Conduct an Industrial Lubricant Survey
The purpose of this first step is to determine your exact lubrication requirements. These surveys are conducted by Lubriplate’s factory-trained lubrication specialists to help ensure the best possible lubricant is used in each application. Often when you purchase new equipment, the manufacturer calls for a particular brand or type of oil or grease. Down the line, you may acquire a new machine that has a seemingly different requirement. But frequently, two or more oils meet the same specifications and could be replaced by a single product. So, they also look for opportunities to consolidate inventory.
STEP 2: Create Custom Color-Coded Lubrication Charts
Once Lubriplate has identified the types of lubrication your specific needs require, the work begins to organize your inventory. Lubriplate creates and delivers customized, color-coded charts that provide quick and easy identification of the correct lubricant for each specific application in your plant. If you operate in a food processing plant, this chart will help your team quickly identify NSF H1 food-grade lubricants. That of course increases safety, but it can also simplify food safety audits. Charts are available in a variety of sizes, quantities, and materials to suit your needs. They also feature QR codes for each lubricant, to help operators quickly access important product and safety information.
STEP 3: Develop Color-Coded Industrial Lubricant Storage Tags and Signs
Once your charts are developed, Lubriplate provides color-coded tags and signs for each lubricant in your inventory, that matches your customized color-coded chart. Your team will be able to quickly identify and deploy the correct lubrication for a specific application. Lubrication storage signs can be printed on PVC plastic or magnetic material, ensuring easy application on the specific storage containers you’re using.
As customers move through this process, they often identify the need for more uniform and organized storage and dispensing solutions. Agilix Solutions can also source equipment to keep your inventory in check and your storage area functional.
STEP 4: Provide Color-Coded Tags for Individual Machine Components
STEP 4: Provide Color-Coded Tags for Individual Machine ComponentsAfter your chart is developed and your inventory is tagged, it’s time to move on to the specific machine components in your facility. Every lubrication point in your plant receives a color-coded tag to indicate which lubricant in your inventory should be used to maintain it. Tags can be created in multiple sizes depending on your needs and can also be customized with your logo. QR codes are again featured on every tag so operators and maintenance staff can get product and safety information quickly when needed. Lubricant identification tags for machinery are typically made from plastic, but can be made from a metal-detectable material, if required.
Addressing Out-of-Sight or Hard-to-Reach Lubrication Needs
In many industrial settings, there are machines or components that require lubrication in hard-to-reach places, or areas that aren’t visible in plain sight. Applying the necessary lubrication to keep these components performing their best can sometimes lead to significant downtime while someone works to access and service them. Worse yet, because these components aren’t always in plain sight they can more easily be forgotten or neglected.
Lubriplate has the answer. Perma Automatic Lubricators are self-powered, self-contained single point lubrication solutions that can be applied to bearings, electric motors, chains, and other components. These systems deliver lubrication at a predetermined time interval to ensure machines stay running at optimal performance without requiring a person to manually apply lubrication. If a customer is unsure of the frequency needed, there is a software and app solution that calculates the recommended settings based on equipment information you enter.
Perma Automatic Lubricators come in both a gas-generated version that builds inert hydrogen gas to dispense the lubricant, and a battery-powered, mechanically-driven unit that utilizes a reusable motor drive.
Industrial Lubrication Prevents Expense and Downtime
Unfortunately, maintenance support is often understaffed or taxed with more responsibility than they have time for. As a result, lubrication tasks are sometimes neglected. The end result is equipment failure and unnecessary expense and downtime. It doesn’t have to be that way. Let Agilix Solutions coordinate Lubriplate solutions to make your lubrication maintenance easier and more efficient. To learn more or schedule a lubrication survey of your facility, reach out to your account manager or contact us today.