Enhancing Equipment Reliability: A Guide to 10 Best Practices in Lubrication

Effective lubrication significantly impacts equipment reliability. Implementing a sound lubrication strategy directly contributes to enhanced uptime for both plant and equipment. In any industrial facility, adopting crucial measures can boost equipment reliability. The incorporation of the following ten lubrication best practices serves as a strategic approach for companies to achieve optimal results, striking the right balance between maintenance costs and production reliability. 

1. Assessment/Benchmarking 

In this procedure, you evaluate both the aspects where you excel and areas that require improvement. 

2. Organization and Planning 

This stage involves guaranteeing the timely execution of all lubrication tasks within the plant, utilizing the appropriate lubricant, and ensuring the correct quantity, all while adhering to the proper processes. Many companies employ software to manage and document these activities effectively. 

3. Identification 

To ensure that the right lubricant is added to a piece of equipment, a labeling system is needed. This is driven by the fact that in large plants multiple types of lubricants are used. Lubricants are complex chemical compositions and are often very incompatible, so to avoid errors of mixing lubes and to support industry standards, particularly in the food-grade industry, a good labeling system is necessary. 

4. Cleanliness Control 

Oil contamination is a major source of component wear and equipment failure. Therefore, it is important that only clean lubricants are used in the equipment operation. Cleanliness-control centers ensure that the lubricant is stored safely, is clean and is transferred in a contamination-free environment.  

Best practices for cleanliness control include: 

• Only use fully sealed containers. 

• Fit air breathers to all containers to prevent the ingress of water and contaminants from the atmosphere. 

• Filter all oil to get it very clean. 

• Only use contamination-free containers, i.e., containers that will not generate contaminants. 

5. In-plant Dispensing 

Open and dirty dispensing containers can be a source of contamination entering the machine. Dispensing equipment must be safe, clean and closed. It also should be efficient, easy to use and adapted to the applications being filled. Make sure the containers are well-identified so no mistakes occur, regardless of who uses them.   

6. Grease Lubrication Tools 

Adding grease to a machine accounts for the majority of lubrication jobs. Therefore, it’s essential to have tools that are efficient and practical. Grease guns should be color-coded to ensure that the right lube gets in the right application. Color-coded grease guns, with one color for each different grease, can help in this regard. 

7. Contamination Control 

Controlling the contamination of oil inside the equipment is also critical. The international standard for measuring this is ISO 4406. Online and offline filtering systems are used to clean up the oil, while breathers or air conditioners are utilized to protect the lubricant. 

8. Oil Analysis 

Analyzing the oil in an application is an important part of a lubrication strategy. By measuring against ISO 4406 standards, the oil can be kept at the right cleanliness levels. Additionally, chemical analysis of the oil will determine if it is fit for further use. 

9. Environmental Control 

If spilled, lubricants can contaminate the environment. Therefore, most maintenance strategies today work to prevent such contamination from occurring. This is also a key ingredient in world-class manufacturing standards. 

10. Knowledge Management 

Management of knowledge is becoming critical in industry today, particularly within the maintenance sphere. Maintenance workers must be skilled in the benefits of good lubrication practices. Additionally, with the growing awareness of the benefits of employing reliability-based maintenance strategies, the basic training of personnel should be raised to that of the reliability techniques employed by best-practice organizations. 

Our Machine Lubrication Level I (ML I) course is designed to give maintenance and reliability professionals the practical skills needed to optimise lubrication programmes while preparing for the internationally recognised ICML certification. 🎓

📅 Upcoming 2027 Course Dates:
📍 Cork: 21st–24th September 2027
📍 Dublin: 5th–7th October 2027

👉 Learn more about our upcoming training courses: Machine Lubrication Level 1 – ARQ Reliability