By Jim Fitch
Power Magazine
The first step in designing a lubrication management program is to have a qualified professional perform a lubrication audit. Its objectives should be to:
- Identify current practices and suggest best-practice alternatives.
- Identify improvement and cost reduction opportunities in lubrication management, storage, handling, and disposal.
- Identify opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of oil analyses by incorporating or refining sampling methods, test slates, on-site analyses, target cleanliness levels, data alarms/limits, and sampling frequencies.
- Review contamination control and proactive maintenance practices and propose improvements to them.
- Identify opportunities and needs for lubricant consolidation and purchasing standards.
- Examine the way oil analysis is integrated with other maintenance technologies.
- Suggest needs for training and documenting procedures.