Your plant’s success depends on every person involved in its operations and maintenance, including contractors. Whether you’ve hired third-party professionals to supplement your workforce during a scheduled maintenance downturn, or you’ve added contractors to your team permanently, their efforts and competencies help fuel your entire team’s progress.

1. Lubrication Partnerships:
A Guide to Partnering With Lubrication Experts
During a Maintenance Downturn and Beyond

2. Table of Contents
Lubrication Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 - 5
The Value of Lubrication Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 - 8
Preparing for a Scheduled Maintenance Downturn . . . . . . . . 9 - 13
Communication is Critical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Outline the Scope of Contracted Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Long-term Partnerships with Lubrication Experts . . . . . . . 16 - 20
Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2

3. Lubrication Statistics
3
Proper lubrication is vital to efficient operations.
A survey by Machinery Lubrication reveals
that 80% of reliability engineers reported
instances of equipment failures from
lubrication starvation.

4. Lubrication Statistics
4
Insufficient and improper lubrication practices cost businesses $$$!
It’s estimated that lubrication-related equipment failures cost U.S. businesses as
much as $1 trillion per year. Losses accrue in several areas, including:
● Lost productivity
● Costly reactive maintenance
● Scheduled and unscheduled downtime
Machinery Lubrication says studies suggest that a full 70 percent of breakdowns are
related to lubrication issues, yet maintenance departments spend, on average, one
dollar in 20 on materials and labor associated with lubrication.

5. Lubrication Statistics
5
It is estimated that improper
lubrication causes about
40-50 percent of bearing failures.
The good news is that proactive
measures can deliver effective
lubrication at minimal cost.

6. The Value of Lubrication Expertise
6
Your plant’s success depends on everyone
involved in its operations and maintenance.
Today's equipment is more sophisticated than ever.
Certified lubrication specialists are skilled tradesmen
capable of calculating lubrication frequency and the
amount of lubricant required. They are up-to-date on
the latest technology, and they have access to the
specialized tools often required to get the job
done right.

7. The Value of Lubrication Expertise
7
Lubrication specialists are uniquely qualified to improve reliability,
reduce consumption and cut parts costs. They also provide overall
optimization, training, and recommendations to modify equipment
for enhanced performance.
Lubrication specialists can survey your plant and its equipment
and introduce improvements that can reduce costs, improve safety
and extend the life of equipment.

8. The Value of Lubrication Expertise
8
Certified lubrication specialists can develop a precision lubrication program
that generates cost savings in many ways, including:
● Timely oil analyses that may reveal metal particles pointing to exhausted
bearings.
● Analysis of new lubricants to ensure they are pure and up to spec.
● Correcting operator error that may be an issue on occasion.
● Conducting periodic equipment inspections that add value when they:
○ reveal new sources of lubricant contamination.
○ show evidence of parts that need replaced.

9. Preparing for a Scheduled Maintenance Downturn
9
Lubrication experts can help you plan for an upcoming maintenance downturn
by supplementing your workforce with skilled and experienced professionals.
During the planning phase, you must assess the skills and capabilities of your
in-house workforce and determine where supplementing them will aid your
team in successfully completing all the scheduled work for an upcoming
maintenance downturn.
You must also ensure skilled professionals are readily available to quickly
handle the unforeseen tasks that inevitably arise during even the best-planned
shutdowns.

10. Preparing for a Scheduled Maintenance Downturn
10
Actions to consider that will help you determine how and when you
would be best served by collaborating with a lubrication service
provider during your next shutdown include:
1. Creating a detailed downtime maintenance plan
2. Clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved
3. Getting expert input early in the planning process

11. Preparing for a Scheduled Maintenance Downturn
11
TIP: Set metrics to track your progress.
A detailed downtime maintenance
plan includes:
● duration of each job
● planned start and end dates for each project
● the tasks involved, the timing of each, and
where they overlap
● the sequence in which work is to be performed.
● customized checklists for each phase of the
downtime process

12. Preparing for a Scheduled Maintenance Downturn
12
Personnel Required
● The number of people on site during downtime maintenance
can often increase by up to 300 percent!
● Knowing what you need and comparing it to the capabilities
and skills your current employees possess helps you pinpoint
the specific areas where additional support from lubrication
experts will help you excel.

13. Preparing for a Scheduled Maintenance Downturn
13
Personnel Required
● Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved.
● Create a thorough list of the necessary personnel for each stage of the shutdown.
Ensuring that the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved are understood:
○ helps to more accurately determine the skills and experience required
○ is an essential part of establishing functional teams
○ avoids overlap of job duties
○ avoids confusion about responsibilities
○ streamlines work and approval processes

14. Communication is Critical
14
Regularly Scheduled Meetings
● Many mishaps are due to simple misunderstandings or omissions of information.
Performance reviews are valuable opportunities for feedback and suggestions.
Meet and discuss performance regularly.
● Also schedule quick meetings with contractors before and after shift changes to
keep the lines of communication open daily. When contractors know they will
soon be able to discuss their concerns with you, it encourages them to bring any
issues they uncover, no matter how seemingly insignificant, to the table. This
provides opportunities to detect and clear up misunderstandings before they
have a chance to wreak havoc on your production.

15. 15
Outline the Scope of Contracted Services
When you partner with lubrication experts, there will be expectations on both sides of
the relationship. A clearly written contract should outline the scope of contracted
services, including:
● Job Roles: Decide which tasks are to be performed by in-house technicians
and which are to be completed by contractor personnel.
● Supplies: Are job supplies ordered in-house or provided by the contractors?
● KPIs: Establish how performance and success will be measured.
● Changes: List steps required for making changes to procedures or
expectations.

16. 16
Long-term Partnerships with Lubrication Experts
Benefit: Established Lubrication Protocols
A long-term partnership with lubrication experts provides cost-saving value and
unique benefits.
Every machine should have a specific lubrication protocol that includes thorough
documentation. When a lubricant contractor takes on these responsibilities,
protocols are appropriately established and carried out. The reality is that the
annual cost to run a motor often exceeds its initial cost. Therefore, it is vital that
a certified specialist examine, in exacting detail, its lubrication needs.
1)

17. 17
Long-term Partnerships with Lubrication Experts
Benefit: Established Lubrication Protocols
In many instances, bearing, pump and other manufacturers provide life cycle
information about their product, making it possible to compare failure rates
with expected outcomes. Lubrication specialists are able to trace component
failures to lubrication deficiencies.
With expert analysis, corrections can easily extend the life cycle of expensive
parts and/or those that cause costly downtime when they fail.
2)

18. 18
Long-term Partnerships with Lubrication Experts
Benefit: Regular Lubrication Service
Plants that enter into monthly, quarterly or semi-annual contracts for
all their lubrication requirements enjoy true peace-of-mind.
Systematic oil analysis, regular equipment inspections and timely
parts replacements occur as needed.
A sense of control comes with embracing forward-looking, predictive
and proactive procedures.
1)

19. 19
Long-term Partnerships with Lubrication Experts
Benefit: Regular Lubrication Service
Ideally, the installation of a precision lubrication program is a “turn-key”
process. For example, a lubrication specialist takes care of all
programming and system startup needs. An outsourced lubrication
contract can allow a plant manager to essentially “set it and forget it.”
That is, set the lubrication program in motion and let the specialists take
care of virtually everything.
This frees management to focus on the essentials of the operation.
2)

20. 20
Long-term Partnerships with Lubrication Experts
Lasting partnerships require
dedication and a commitment to
collaboration. The resulting trust that
develops creates an open atmosphere
where team members can confidently
work together to come up with the best
possible strategies for success.

21. Additional Resources
21
Sign up for your FREE
1-hour Lubrication Maintenance
Needs Analysis
Find out how our experienced, OSHA-certified lubrication
experts can provide the high-level skills, experience and
manpower your team needs to implement superior
precision lubrication practices in your facility.
For your free analysis, visit:
lubrisource.com/analysis

22. 22
877-432-9111
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