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§ Program-Year

WinnerAll the Right Moves

The Evolution of a Lubrication Program

by Danny Moore

Automotive started business in 1927 as Paton's Brake Service Station in the Melbourne, Aus-tralia suburb of Carlton. Since then it has grown to be a leading and world class manufacturerof brake components. With facilities on four continents PER supplies advanced brake sys-

tem products and technology to the global automotive market. The 236,000 square foot plant, 5.5 acre facilitylocated in West Columbia, South Carolina manufactures brake calipers, the Banksia park brake system and brakemodules for various CM, Ford and Chrysler vehicle platforms along with others.

PER of Columbia, L.L.C. has always prided itself inrunning a very organized and well maintained opera-tion. However, about two years ago we began tonotice that cycle times, which are critical in a foundryoperation, and machine reliability began to decrease.Although we consistently performed our PMs, wequickly discovered that we were missing severalkey components, one of which was our lubricationprogram.

We have performed lubrication analysis since dayone and always performed work based off of whatwe thought were appropriate guidelines. But, afterreceiving some additional training and guidance fromour suppliers, we began a detailed process to re-eval-uate everything we did and thought. We also begana lengthy period of self education into every aspectof lubrication including the evaluation of'hands-offpredictive maintenance principles.

One of the primary initial steps we took was to call ateam meeting that included everyone involved in thelubrication process, including all of our associatedsuppliers. At first there was skepticism from the com-peting suppliers, but we persisted and were eventu-ally able to gain participation from the majority.

Stay Open

Open communication is a critical component in gain-ing support from all stakeholders. In order to fostera team spirit, it was essential for us to be fair andstraightforward with all the suppliers. We discoveredthat creating a bulk e-mail address was an excellenttool. This ensured that when any communication wassent everyone was included. We also made it clearto everyone that we would use what was determinedto be the best practices for the need regardless ofmanufacturer. This meant every stakeholder wouldprobably win some and lose some.

Once this process began we all recognized thateveryone had their own philosophy on the resolu-tion of our issues and interpretation of the data. Webegan a process of incorporating all ideas into onemajor plan of attack. We surmised that everyoneknew something helpful but no one alone had thecomplete or best answer. We also discovered that, asthe end user, we had better be more knowledgeableabout what we needed and what the information wecollected meant to us. We could then achieve ourdesired results without a lot of he said/she said or 'myproduct is better than yours'. From these meetingswe developed a ten step improvement process to ad-dress each area of concern in our lubrication program(see below) and set about attacking each item step bystep.

Ten Step Improvement Processfor Cast Shop Hydraulics

1). Determine required standards for oil2). Make sure all incoming oil stocks meet requirement3). Reprocess and certify current stock, if needed4). Eliminate leaks and prevent contamination5). Ensure PM's are done and are effective6). Revisit/repeat particle count analysis7). Configure pump/filter unit

a). Replace filters with appropriate size unitsb). Fix current draw problems on motorc). Convert to quick disconnectsd). Provide spare parts as needed

8). Configure table and die change area pump unita). Replace filters with appropriate sizeb). Add power connectorc). Add quick disconnect couplingsd). Fix strainer issuee). Check and replace frail hoses

9). Commence routine cleaning10). Implement filtration program, particle count

analysis and review process

december 2006

First, we involved Industrial Distri-bution Group (IDG) to increase andorganize a more comprehensive oilanalysis process that provided morefrequent information combined withon-call analysis during our testingphase. IDG also verified the Castrolproduct we were using was appropri-ate for the application, which it was.Our process uses water glycol fluidwhich is difficult to analyze in-houseand can be very costly. During thisprocess we also researched the marketfor lubricants that might perform bet-ter for our application. Although wefound a potentially better product, wechose to address our current issuesprior to testing something new. Inother words, we decided to correctthe issues we knew we had and not addanother variable!

Surprise

All oil is dirty!....What!....It's brand new?That's what we thought anyway. Needlessto say, our first lesson was learned. Unlessyou buy aircraft grade oil, your oil dirt levelis typically higher than most of your criticalcomponents can stand. We had to decide ifbuying aircraft grade oil or filtering and cer-tifying our own was the best choice. Aftercrunching the numbers, we decided that, forus, it was the later. We also had to muddlethrough conflicting information. Somesuppliers would tell us that oil cleanlinesswasn't as critical as the other guy wanted usto believe. Others would tell us that it wasthe most critical part of the oil, We decidedto use the worse case scenario and wentfrom there. We started by installing a 24/7recirculating oil filtration and dispensingsystem to maintain 17/15/12 oil cleanlinesslevels continually in their storage totes. Wechose to use a Harvard Filtration systemthat utilizes a bag filter for pre-cleaning anda 1-micron finish filter. The system was set-up so that it continually recirculates the oilin our tote using a drum breather quick dis-connect set-up supplied by Y2K Fluid Power.We can also switch to a quick disconnectattached to a transport drum and turn a

Figure 1 - Hydac Filtration System

valve to fill the transport drum. With thesame quick disconnects we can take newproduct from new totes and fill the storagetote with filtration never ceasing.

Next we addressed how to get our oil fromstorage to the machines. This part was apretty straightforward process. We in-stalled breather kits from Y2K Fluid Powerand 3A" quick disconnects at all transfer

points in the sys-tem. This allowedour transfer drumsto be directly linkedto the machine viaa Parker Hannifintransfer/filter cartwithout ever open-ing any port oraccess point.

It's importantto note that weuse two types ofhydraulic oil in the

facility. We set up the system for the sec-ond type of oil using H" quick disconnects.This set-up prevents cross-use of filter carts,equipment, oil drums, and any other devicenot specifically set-up for one area or theother. We also found that using differentsize quick disconnects for different prod-ucts was an affordable way to control crosscontamination from just about any source.

Figure 2 - QuickDisconnect fillsystem by Y2K

It also discourages the use of pails,bottles and funnels which are a primesource of contamination. To provideanother layer of contamination control,we also utilized a sump identificationprogram designed by DuBois Chemi-cal Management that identifies everycontainer, sump and transport cart bycolor and description.

Now that the oil could be delivered tothe machine purified we evaluated theequipment, and quickly discovered thatthe machines' factory installed filtra-tion was woefully inadequate to main-tain the fluid quality - even when deliv-ered clean. With help from Livingstonand Havens (Hydac) we researchedand installed a more robust, and more

cost effective, filtration system. Within 16hours of installing the system, we achievedand have maintained the results we require.This was crucial because the most criticalparts in the machine were the 192 Vick-ers proportional valves that control thecycle times. We discovered that althoughwe would PM and change our filters, theywould clog within 7 days. Unfortunately,the PM cycle was monthly and we had no in-dication of the failure with basic mechanicaltype pressure gauges. With the new set-upwe anticipate only annual filter changes.However, they have alarms (both visual andaudible) that will warn us when they getwithin a specified range of ful l capacity.We also addressed several other machineissues such as proper cylinder seal mate-rial, sample ports for analysis samples, andrelocating a filter that had been installed inan area of the machine that could not be ac-cessed without shutting the machine down.

Next, we updated our automated PM systemto reflect all the new information and equip-ment we installed, and included detailedspecifics on how to maintain and manageeach piece of equipment in the process. Weeven have stock part numbers listed on thework orders so that maintenance personnelcould verify that the parts they were usingwere correct,

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With the inclusion of thermography andvibration analysis, we have now beguntracking machine performance and ad-dressing issues proactively rather than ona time-based program. As our databasegrows we are confident that our ability topredict failures will grow as well. We havealso added Ultraviolet leak detection toassist in controlling the system since wehave 48 interchangeable major componentsalong with 288+ hydraulic cylinders, 300 +hydraulic lines, hoses and quick disconnectsand numerous other potential points offailures and leakage.

We have also chosen to display controlcharts at each machine to inform both main-tenance and operators as to the currentcondition of their machine. Maintenancepersonnel have been trained on how tointerpret and use the data displayed. Ourmaintenance team then assumed respon-sibility for management and upkeep of thesystem with data systems being managedby Danny Moore (DuBois on-site Chemi-cal Management) and Doug Hypes (PER PM

Manager). As we discussed at the PdM-2007conference in Chattanooga, we continue torefine our process and the data we use.

We continue to do all sampling throughour chemical supplier because we don'thave the ability to do on-site water gly-col hydraulic fluid testing affordably andeffectively. We have further adjusted oursampling intervals to provide more accuratedata which will allow us to diagnose futureissues rather than respond to failures.

In conclusion, we would like to encourageall readers to pursue an effective predictivemaintenance program. As we discoveredin working through this project, not onlydid we improve our process and quicklybegan to reduce downtime, but we alsorealized immediate and sustainable savings.In today's competitive global marketplace,we can't afford to do business any otherway. Our machine reliability continues toincrease and this project has helped identifyseveral other opportunities for improve-ment that we hadn't seen before.

We would also like to acknowledge all thosewho played a key role in our success:

Troy Harvey - Livingston and HavensRob Craig - Carolina Fluid Air

Steve Anderson - Y2K Fluid PowerJoe Langmeyer - Livingston and Havens

Brad Smalls - Industrial Distribution GroupMike Strickland - Castrol NA

Sandy Horton - Parker HannifinDanny Moore - DuBois Chemical Manage-

ment (co-team leader/ on site manager)

And the whole PER management team fortheir support in this project

Danny E. Moore is theJohnsonDiverseyIndustrial on-site chemical manager. He has22 years experience in manufacturing. Holdsa degree in Business management, is amachinist and a licensed master electrician.Danny has served in management roles for13 years.

The OiLMISERFILLorDRAIN

by JLM Systems Limited

Meet all youroil managementneeds:

• Off-LineFiltration

• Fluid Handling

• Oil Sampling

• Air Quality

Installs in minutesCan add years of life

For more information visit our website www.oilmiser.comor telephone toll free: 1-888-RENU OIL (1-888-736-8645)

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