Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

Magazine Events Resources Contact Us Advertise Editorial Type here to search...

Search

2015

Store and Handle Lubricants Properly

EP Editorial Staff | September 11, 2015

Return to top

1 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

Treat your lubricants well and they’ll return the favor in

terms of your equipment and processes.
By Ken Bannister, MEch Eng (UK), CMRP, MLE, Contributing Editor

The actual cost of a mechanical failure is rarely confined to a simple bearing

repair/replacement. Lost opportunities and time associated with such events also come into
play. Fortunately, the majority of bearing failures are preventable by implementing low-cost,
best-practice-driven lubrication-management programs. Getting the most from your
lubricants calls for a cradle-to-cradle, lifecycle-management approach. Storage and handling
is a key issue.

From cradle to cradle

A lubricant begins life as base oil refined from mineral crude or synthesized stocks. That
base is then blended with various additives to create a proprietary product for delivery to
market.

Moving from the refiner/manufacturer, the finished lubricant is transferred into bulk
containers for its journey to a market supplier that offloads the bulk oil into its own storage
tanks. The oil is then sold to the end user and delivered in pre-packaged pails and drums, or
transferred, again, this time into a bulk container for delivery and transfer into the end user’s
bulk-storage totes.

ADVERTISEMENT

At the end user’s site, the product is then stored and transferred into smaller containers used
to fill machine reservoirs. Once the lubricant is no longer deemed fit for use, it’s collected in
select used-oil containers, classified, and stored before shipment to a re-refiner for recycling
into clean, marketable oil stocks.

The problem with this process is understandable: Each time a lubricant is stored or
transferred, it’s at risk for contamination by solids and water—both of which can be deadly
Return to top

2 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

Plants begin to exert a degree of control over the cleanliness of their lubricants by entering
into delivery-acceptance agreements with suppliers. These agreements are extremely
important with regard to bulk transfers. Having accepted a bulk delivery, a site gains control
over the product’s cleanliness through its lubrication-management arrangements and
practices, which should include maintaining the best storage and handling facilities possible.

World-class end-user storage and handling facilities let personnel treat lubricants with the
respect they deserve, i.e., using simple, but effective, management processes from the time
products are received, transferred, stored, and dispensed, until they are drained and collected
for recycling. Regardless of its particular operations and budget, the following three-step-
approach can help your site develop this type of facility.

1. Understand your lubrication requirements.

A basic tenet of lubrication management is to ensure the right lubricants are used for specific
equipment and, more important, specific operating conditions—“right” being an engineered
choice based on performance and economy. Choosing correctly is a specialized task best left
to lubrication experts. Fortunately, virtually all major lubricant manufacturers and
distributors offer lubricant consolidation services in which their engineers visit end-user
facilities to determine the least number of lubricant types suited for a site’s working
environments and engineering requirements. This type of service is critical to the success of
lubrication-management programs.

Consolidation audits are frequently offered as a no-cost, value-added service in return for an
exclusive lubricant-supply contract. A consolidation initiative can considerably reduce costs
by reducing the amount of different products carried in stock. Depending on its particular
equipment and processes, a plant stocking more than 20 lubricants could, conceivably, reduce
that number by 60% as a result of a consolidation audit.

Throughout the consolidation process, all unwanted and unused open and closed lubricant
containers should be collected for recycling, as only the consolidated lubricants are to be
allowed on site once the program is activated.

2. Design and prepare your lubricant storage area.

In addition to a reduced list of lubricants for a site, a consolidation-audit report should
provide information on use of the chosen products that, in turn, is relevant for designing
adequate storage and handling operations, including:

Number of different lubricant products to be carried, stored, and dispensed

Anticipated usage amounts for each lubricant—used to recommend the most economical
purchase and storage container size. These data are also used to determine the real-estate
Return to top

3 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

requirement for a three-to-six month supply of each lubricant and the type of filtering,
dispensing, and transferequipment needed to ensure only contaminant-free products
contact bearing-surface areas.
In-plant geography on where each lubricant is used—used to determine economical lube
routes and the logistical requirements, i.e., number of lubrication technicians required,
lube truck, forklift, lubricant-delivery equipment, and maps, schematics, or directions
for getting the right lubricant(s) to the right machine(s).
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and staff-training requirements.

Use the following information to determine how best to design a lubricant storage-and-
handling facility. Table I lists typical attributes that factor into acceptable designs, with best
practice and reasonable alternatives highlighted.

Location/Size. As with any real estate, a good location is paramount when it comes to the
logistics of receiving lubricants and dispatching them throughout the plant. (Larger plants
Return tomay
top also require controlled satellite locations.) The ability to protect virgin-stock lubricants

4 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

from the elements, including temperature extremes, is equally important. Large temperature
swings promote moisture condensation in containers. Wind, rain, snow, and ice increase the
risk of solid and water contamination. (Always be very careful when opening stored lubricant
containers). All locations must be rated for—and large enough—to allow forklift traffic.
Indoor locations must be temperature controlled, large enough to house 3 to 6 mo. of
inventory, and offer an exterior wall for installation of a shipping-and-receiving-dock door.

Ventilation. Because lubricants discharge vapors that can be harmful if allowed to

accumulate, good cross-flow ventilation from fresh-air units and exhaust fans is essential for
indoor facilities. Enclosed outdoor facilities may require their own extraction/ventilation
systems if, because of location, they can’t take advantage of prevailing-wind vents that are
open to air and augmented by exhaust-fan units. (Note: Vents should be equipped with
furnace-style filters.)

Fixtures. Based on lubricant turnover rates and storage-container economics, storage-and-

handling facilities might contain 300-gal. poly totes for bulk-oil distribution, custom color-
coded steel-tank bulk-oil storage and dispensing systems, drum racks designed to take
palletized drums in an upright position, or drum-dispensing racks set on spill-control
platforms with drums positioned on their sides with dispensing/metering valve systems. Pails
that can be stacked on pallets (similar to drums) are appropriate solutions for storing less-
used lubricants.

Transfer/Filtration Equipment. To move lubricants to machines, personnel must transfer

them from one container to another in the most non-contaminable way possible using
dedicated transfer/filter-cart-style dispensing units, in conjunction with dedicated closed-pour
containers.

Spill Control. Best practice is to slope storage-room floors to a low-point drain where spilled
product can be collected into an easily accessible common tank for recycling. Local spills
can be managed with dry spill-absorbent prducts.

Safety. A permanently plumbed eyewash station is a must when dealing with petroleum-
based products. Up-to-date MSDS binders and Standard Operating Procedures are to be
posted at the entrance to the facility.

Stock Control. Most lubricants are only rated for a shelf life between 6 and 12 mo. Stock
must be rotated on a regular basis following a first-in-first-out (FIFO) approach to inventory
control. Past-due-date products should be returned to the supplier or recycled, and the stock
purchasing/usage history evaluated and adjusted accordingly.

Waste-Oil Control. Mixed waste oil can be 10 times more expensive to ship off site than
Return to top
unmixed oil waste. Each lubricant used in the plant must have a dedicated collection

5 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

tank/tote clearly marked for waste-lubricant type, the only exception being spilled oils. Used
oil is likely transported to the site’s storage-and-handling facility in a number of different
containers that need to be disposed of according to local municipal and state requirements.
(Note: Oily rags can self-combust in a regular garbage can. Collect these rags in a marked,
fireproof trashcan.)

Lubricant Identification. Having gone to the trouble of consolidating your lubricants,

clearly denote dedicated areas in the facility for each and every lubricant by labeling them
with large letters (2 to 3-in. high) to identify these products. Develop a plan or drawing of the
facility, identifying locations of each lubricant and waste tank, and post at the facility
entrance.

Processes and Procedures. Best practices are not only rooted in the design, but in
sustainable operation of the facility. Be sure to develop, map out, and train all staff on all
processes and procedures related to use of your lubricant storage-and-handling facility.

3. Pay attention to the paperwork.

To ensure your lubricant supplier provides the cleanest products possible, follow these simple
rules before accepting bulk deliveries in your new storage-and-handling facility.

Insist on receiving a Certificate Of Analysis (COA) for each delivered lubricant, and keep
this document on file until the batch has been used.

Never assume a lubricant is delivered according to its COA-document specification.

Execute a delivery-acceptance agreement that requires a supplier to provide lubricants based

on COAs and/or a set of internal minimum-cleanliness guidelines (such as those noted in ISO
Return to4406:1999),
top and viscosity specifications, within +/-10% of COA specification.

6 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

Establish an oil-quality-analysis test acceptable to your site and supplier(s), and develop a
service-level agreement that outlines lubricant-condemnation levels and remedial-action
requirements should, on delivery, a product fail this test.

Perform quality testing regularly, taking a bulk sample after the tanker truck lines have been
flushed prior to transfer, and from the center of any supplier pre-filled containers.

Once preceding rules and the associated procedures are instituted, it becomes crucial to
update all of the following systems, functions, and information:

The asset-management preventive-maintenance system, to reflect new lubricant choices

on work orders
Machinery bill-of-materials information
The inventory section of the asset-management system, to reflect stocking of new
lubricants
Lubricant labeling on equipment reservoirs, if applicable
MSDS manuals
Equipment manuals
Purchasing records. MT

Lubrication expert Ken Bannister is principal consultant with EngTech Industries, Innerkip,
Ontario. The author of Lubrication for Industry and the Lubrication Section of the 28th
Edition of Machinery’s Handbook (both Industrial Press, South Norwalk, CT), he can be
reached at kbannister@engtechindustries.com.

To learn more, see:

— maintenancetechnology.com/?p=1453
— maintenancetechnology.com/?p=1535
— descase.com

You may also like:

The Basics Of Roller Chain Sprockets

17th Outage Management for Power Plants
Grease Basics
Comparing Maintenance Costs
Reliability’s Sexy Side: Threaded Fasteners
Failure Analysis Of Machine Shafts
[ what's this ]

Return to top

7 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

POPULAR CATEGORIES

Products 883
News 403
Management 353
Automation 382
Reliability 761
Maintenance 581
Uncategorized 151

Return to top

8 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

FEATURED VIDEO
Featured Video

Show More Videos

CURRENT ISSUE

Return to top

9 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

10 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

View Comments

Sign up for insights, trends, & developments in

Machinery Solutions

Maintenance & Reliability Solutions

Energy Efficiency

Email

Return to top

11 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.
Store and Handle Lubricants Properly - Efficient Plant https://www.efficientplantmag.com/2015/09/store-and-handle-lubricants...

Return to top

12 de 12 27/04/2018, 01:46 p. m.