I remember my first day at a new job in 1981. This is the job that launched me into a 32-year career in lubrication. My first assignment was to conduct a telephone survey of industry professionals on various topics related to oil analysis and contamination control. I quickly learned that the industry was suffering from stagnant practices and lethargic attitudes. It was not too long thereafter when I began to have second thoughts about the wisdom of pursuing lubrication as a career path. Perhaps some of you have had similar feelings.

It took a while, but I eventually came to realize that what seemed like a dismal state in an old and generally unexciting field was actually a huge opportunity in disguise. It reminds me of the story of the two shoe salesmen. They were both sent by their factory to Africa to see if there was a market for their product. The first salesman quickly reported back: “This is a terrible business opportunity. No one wears shoes.” The second salesman reported back: “This is a fantastic business opportunity. No one wears shoes.” At first I saw the lubrication field like the first salesman. I soon came to realize the enormous potential that it actually represented.

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Lubrication is an unmistakably integral part of machine reliability. Rotating machines are dependent on lubrication decisions made, such as which lubricant to use, how the lubricant needs to be applied to the tribological zones, and what is done during operations to monitor and control the integrity of these frictional zones.

At the same time, lubrication is too often not top of mind when considering the critical aspects of rotating machines, partly because there is a lack of general understanding of the crucial role the lubricant plays in reliability. But even for those who may understand this, it still is not intuitive to manage these factors carefully. Rather, there are incorrect assumptions that lubrication is straight forward; in other words, simply “just having oil or grease in the machine is largely all that is necessary” is a perspective of many. This, coupled with the fact that lubrication is messy and not as exciting as the many other maintenance tasks, often challenge workforce culture.

As a result, the industry suffers from stagnant practices and lethargic attitudes. Although, the dismal state of an old and generally unexciting field is a huge opportunity in disguise. For plant maintenance personnel that see this opportunity, improvements in lubrication not only help avoid unnecessary costs in repairs and downtime, but also have a huge impact in improving the maintenance culture and creating a foundation for sustainable growth. But what should be the focus for improvement and achieving lubrication excellence?

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