Maintenance Technology June 2017 - 26

MRO ISSUES

specification and identification are
simplified. When this process is
completed for the whole list of a site's
lubricants, it is common to see multiple
products that fit the same specification.
The next step is to choose one of those
products from your primary supplier
and convert the others to it. As previously stated, there are some exceptions
where a particular product might be
required, but for the vast majority of
applications, any lubricant that meets
those specs should perform well. In
addition to reducing the number of
Greases
products in inventory, this will allow
Lubricating greases are somewhat more
most to consolidate to a single brand or
complicated than oils, but still fairly
supplier.
simple. In addition to having properties
For many sites, grease consolidation
similar to those of lubricating oils,
is also a big opportunity. In the average
industrial grease products incorporate
lube room many of the greases fit the
thickeners. A good grease specificaFor the most part,
same specs in the ways that matter. As
tion should include base-oil type,
with all lubricants the most important
viscosity grade, additive-system type,
all major lubricant
part of the spec is viscosity, which
thickener type, and the NLGI (National
manufacturers make the
should be selected based on the speed
Lubricating Grease Institute) grade that
of the application. Start by converting
describes grease consistency.
same types of products.
your existing products to the generic
Using base oil type, viscosity grade,
format in the same manner as oil. In
type of additive system, and, in the case
this case, you will need to add the thickener type and NLGI
of grease, thickener type and NLGI consistency grade, we can
grade. Following is an example of this conversion for Product
translate most lubricant specifications to a generic format that
B, a well-known grease. The commercial name of this product
helps minimize or eliminate existing redundancies in inventodoesn't really give a lot of information about what it is. Again,
ries and the temptation to add new ones.
if we just look at the product data sheet, we'll have all the
information we need.
Consolidation phase 1: Identification
The first step to optimizing the number of lubricants in your
[ISO VG 220] - [M] - [EP] - [Lithium Complex] - [2]
plant is to make a list of all the products you currently use and
[ISO Viscosity Grade] - [Base Oil Type] -
convert them to a generic description. This generic nomencla[Additive System Type] - [Thickener] - [NLGI grade]
ture should be used to identify lubricants in inventory and for
the machine-lubricant specifications themselves. Not only will
A typical plant could have half a dozen products that match
this identify redundant products, it will also make it easier to
(or come close to) this description. One of the problems with
switch brands or accommodate product name changes without
grease is that there may be multiple products with similar oils
altering PM documentation or lube-identification tags on the
but different thickeners. If the thickener type is to be changed,
equipment.
users must investigate the compatibility of the products in
As an example, consider Product A, a well-known synthetic
question. By consolidating greases, most plants find they need
lubricant that might be the only product specified for a certain
only two or three products, not counting coupling grease.
application. Unless users were well versed in this product line,
they wouldn't know what type of lubricant Product A is. By
reviewing its product data sheet, they can extract the most
Consolidation phase 2: Technical
important information. The following generic-coded identificaThe first phase of consolidation involves eliminating redundant
tion system makes the specification very clear:
lubricants through the use of a single product for each generic
oil or grease type at your site. The next step (phase 2) is to
[ISO VG 68] - [PAO] - [AW]
actually consolidate specifications.
[ISO Viscosity Grade] - [Base Oil Type] -
It's not unusual to find a plant using three different types of
[Lubricant or Additive System Type]
hydraulic oil, but most hydraulic systems will operate normally
on the same product. Most machines can use more than just
By converting product names to a generic code, lubricant
one lubricant. For example, a reducer that uses ISO 220 EP

used in turbines and other applications with high-speed plain bearings
■ AW (anti-wear) oils for hydraulics
and anti-friction bearings
■ EP (extreme pressure) lubricants for
gears and slow-speed bearings
■ Compounded oils used in worm
gears and steam cylinders.
While there are other types and
variations of industrial lubricating oils,
most applications require only a single
product from one of these categories.

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MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY

JUNE 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology June 2017