By Jim Fitch
Machinery Lubrication Magazine
Try this simple experiment. With notepad in hand, go out into your plant and walk around a sampling of your most critical machines. These are the ones that have high probability of failure and/or the greatest consequences of failure. They are also known as show-stoppers and, as such, generally merit a disproportionate allocation of reliability and maintenance resources.
Next, on your notepad make a list of all the lubrication-related enhancements that have been implemented on these same machines since they were commissioned. Take special note of those that have been applied in the past five years. Solicit any amount of help (from old-timers, for instance) you need to flesh out your list.