Materials Handling
lubricant and to use it in a manner which maintains its food-grade rating – for example storing food-grade and non food-grade products separately and using colour-coding for easy identification. The National Sanitation Foundation
(NSF) offers various accreditations for different types of lubricants. While products are not tested for compliance, it remains a useful scheme for judging the suitability of lubricants and forms a basis for further investigation of the product’s attributes. H1 is the NSF accreditation for food-
grade lubricants, with products carrying this mark deemed safe for ‘incidental contact’, where it is possible that lubricant may come into contact with food products in low concentrations. H2 lubricants are classified by NSF as
Fig. 2. Lubrication manufacturers themselves are governed by ISO 21469, which proves that food-grade lubricants have been manufactured in a hygienic environment.
only suitable for zero-contact applications, and would normally be used outside of the food production area, while H3 is an important accreditation which covers lubricants that have to come into contact with food to function effectively. Products in this category include release agents which prevent food from adhering to surfaces during processing, for example linings for baking pans or greases for other surfaces such as grills.
Operational contamination Operational contamination can come from within machinery, such as corrosive metal particles, or indeed the food products themselves – sharp salt and sugar crystals, for example – can also cause physical or chemical damage to component surfaces, especially if poorly lubricated to begin with. Many manufacturers rely on scheduled lubrication and filtration schedules which may not always be suitable for the machine or food products in question. This practice may mean that oil is thrown away when it could be made serviceable again if treated appropriately, or that overused lubricants are left in use for too long. By not carrying out regular analysis of lubrication, particularly if the usage patterns of equipment fluctuate according to demand, manufacturers may be failing to identify potential risk factors that could cause future problems. While suitable and timely lubrication of equipment
in any food manufacturing facility is vital in optimising performance and ensuring safety, lubrication analysis can actually give an insight into the operational health of plant equipment. There is no doubt that a well-implemented lubrication
management programme will improve equipment reliability in the same way that a healthy lifestyle keeps us fit. Given the critical nature of lubricants and the
frequency with which mechanical failure is related to the lubricating system, effective lubrication management is probably the most important single function within any planned asset maintenance programme, especially when combined with other practices such as alignment, condition monitoring and filtration. Structured testing and reporting is an important part
of the process, especially where there may be hundreds or thousands of measurement points around the plant. If an item of rotating equipment fails, for instance, the cause of the problem is often attributed to a bearing failure. The bearing failure is however a symptom rather than a cause and by simply replacing without looking into why it failed, similar problems will almost certainly continue to occur. An integrated maintenance solution applied to a rotating equipment system, comprising effective lubrication, condition monitoring and contamination control, will deliver significant improvement in equipment reliability. Outsourcing lubrication management and tribology
(the science and technology of friction, lubrication, and wear) as part of a wider condition monitoring programme has a number of very cost-effective benefits. In summary, high performance lubricants will
provide measurable benefits provided they are well- managed and maintained, and applied by skilled maintenance practitioners. Lubrication resource optimisation, which includes other key maintenance techniques such as vibration analysis and contamination control, is proven to enhance equipment performance. In parallel, good filtration management. n
John Chappell is managing director of asset integrity specialists AV Technology Ltd (AVT), Handforth, Cheshire, UK.
www.avtechnology.co.uk
www.engineerlive.com 31
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