Innocent Use of Industrial Lubricants Could Be Costly

Industrial lubricants is a title of a category which often show up in a plant in a range of containers from aerosol cans to large 300-gallon totes. Many understand the need for compatibility between industrial lubricants and the coolants when both on used on the same line. Many of the operations used automatic misting or sprays to apply the lubricant. It is common knowledge that over spray causes a multitude of problems, some of which are:

• Excessive cost of the fluid.
• Rapid contamination of the coolant and the extra cost to remove the "tramp oil."
• Increased amounts of residue on the parts and machine surfaces.

These are high profile items and there is a good chance that the plant is monitoring their use and trying to control excess waste. However, there are two other techniques of applying industrial lubricants which often are taken for granted but they could be a source of waste and extra cost to clean contaminated flushing fluids. Aerosol cans used on a line to protect the surfaces of a part and hand brushing mold release oils for stamping are potential extra cost operations. These operations are obviously dependent upon the careful handling of the operator and when more than necessary is used at each step, the normal reaction is that it is just a small amount and there is no harm. On relatively high production rates the small amounts add up to not only require extra cost for more fluid but, they contaminate the coolant or flush water to a level where cleaning the fluid is needed before it can be reused or disposed of.

Therefore more training of the operators is recommended so they become aware of the negative impact the simple application can have on the cost of the operation. Also, steps can be taken to aid the operator to control the amount for each application.

Harrigan Solutions can assist plants in implementing better practices in this area. For more information contact Bill Harrigan at 1-888-685-9603. You can email him at bharrigan@harrigansolutions.com. The website is www.harrigansolutions.com/index.html.