Milling Journal - Q4 2008 - (Page 36) tunities, and conduct return-on-investment and equipment energy studies. • Develop lubrication standard operating procedures and process management programs. • Determine training and continuing educational needs. • Begin a proactive oil and fuel analysis program. • Assign facility equipment and application inspections. • Identity carbon footprint reduction opportunities. • Ensure reporting practices, quarterly reviews, and follow-up programs are implemented. • Develop continuous improvement programs. Lubrication Program Example A simple cost-analysis demonstrates the benefits of a basic lubrication reliability program. For example, in one milling operation, the average energy cost of operating a positive displacement blower was re- Moving your mill from breakdown maintenance to preventive maintenance to a solid reliability program designed for a milling operation takes time and paitience, but the return on investment is significiant. Alan Harding VP-Sales, Food Processing Hydrotex duced by $550 annually by switching to an OEM-approved high-performance synthetic oil designed specifically for the application. If a mill operates 30 blowers, it is possible to achieve an annual application energy savings of $16,500. But this savings is only part of the equation. Prior to introducing the lubrication reliability program, maintenance personnel in this example changed oil in each blower four times per year. If the cost of maintenance is identified the savings can be calculated as follows. Cost using current oil: 1 hour manpower + cost of oil per gallon + purchasing costs = cost of oil change. Plugging in some numbers: $25 + $9.50 + $5 = $39.50 x 4 changes annually = $158 x 30 blowers = $4,740. Cost using synthetic blower oil: $25 + $16.50 + $5 = $46.50 x 1 change annually x 30 blowers = $1,395. Overall estimated annual cost savings: $3,345 maintenance direct cost savings + $16,500 energy reduction = $19,845. In today’s business climate, there is no room for poor maintenance practices that negatively affect the bottom line. Moving from breakdown maintenance to preventive maintenance to a solid reliability program designed for a milling operation takes time and patience, but the return on investment is significant. Implementing a basic lubrication reliability program often outweighs the cost of change by maximizing production output, reducing maintenance and operating costs, and optimizing profits. 36 Fourth Quarter 2008 Response No. 361 MILLING JOURNAL http://www.FPAlliance.com http://www.FPAlliance.com
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