BEARINGS FEATURE SMALL SAVINGS ADD UP TO MUCH LARGER ONES
When aiming for new targets such as lower carbon emissions, it pays to work from the ground up – as components like bearings can effect performance, says Eva Otel, marketing and sustainability manager at SKF
F
ood recalls are on the rise: in the USA, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
reports that incidents have almost doubled since 2012; in the UK, the Food Standards Agency announces around one food recall every day. As well as harming a brand, food recalls
reduce manufacturing efficiency as staff spend time hunting down the source of contamination. This undercuts the efforts that many companies are making to improve both manufacturing efficiency and environmental performance. When aiming to reach new targets such
as lower carbon emissions, it is common to fixate on the big picture. After all, a large percentage reduction is something that everybody can visualise. However, it is often by scrutinising the underlying detail that these big changes are made. Many food and beverage plants have
environmental targets to reach but achieving them can have time and cost implications. It is also important to ensure that environmental and efficiency gains go hand in hand. There are everyday procedures, such as
cleaning and other ongoing operations, that could be vastly improved by taking a new approach. A key concept is to avoid waste, rather than dealing with any that is generated. The humble bearing has a huge effect on
overall plant performance: just consider how often a failed bearing causes the shutdown of a line. However, a bearing does not need to fail in order to cause a problem. In food production, bearing housings are just one of many crevices that can harbour bacteria and so act as a source of contamination. Washdown is probably the most
important operation within food manufacturing and ensures that production conditions are pristine. However, the harshness of the process, involving high pressure jets of hot water
and corrosive chemicals, can play havoc with bearings. Water and detergent can force their way into the housing, causing internal grease to leak out. This causes two problems: it poses a contamination risk and it undermines the performance of the bearing. Consider also the time needed to relubricate these bearings and clean up the leaked grease. This is not ideal for a factory looking to
improve its environmental performance: one sustainability manager in a food plant says it sends 570kg of grease-absorbent rags to incineration per year. All of this has an environmental implication and a cost impact. Rather than fretting over
these large figures, the problem can be fixed at source by changing the type of bearing units that are in use. Specifying a bearing unit that is resistant to the washdown process, and needs no relubrication, will save time while also reducing waste. Using hygienic design principles, SKF has
developed its Blue Range of Food Line ball bearing units. These combine smooth, inert surfaces with a self-draining geometry, superior sealing and a relubrication-free design. It ensures that microbes cannot penetrate the bearing, while lubricant cannot escape. The ‘simple’ act of changing out one
bearing unit for another can have a huge effect across the entire plant, encompassing waste, carbon emissions, manufacturing efficiency and contamination. Firstly, the sealed nature of the bearing
means that leaking grease is a thing of the past. This cuts contamination risks, while also reducing the number of grease- soaked rags to zero. Sealed bearings also require no relubrication, leaving technicians free for more important jobs in
the plant. This has a further cost benefit: the cost of grease for relubrication disappears. For example, a large food industry
For all the environmental and efficiency benefits offered by the bearing units, the most important factor to a plant manager is probably their ability to reduce the risk of contamination – and cut the chance of a product recall
conveyor system with 200 bearing units may need re-greasing 50 times per year. The cost of grease may be £40/kg, that of labour around £20/hour. Removing these costs can save more than £12,000/year, and the labour redeployed into continuous improvement activities. Longer-lasting bearing units also lower
carbon emissions, as running a bearing unit for longer is more energy efficient than making a new one and fitting it. The Blue Line bearing units also run more efficiently than conventional bearing units, while their non-contact lip seal is produced more efficiently than a typical three-seal system. These bearing units require one-third
less washing water than conventional bearings, according to tests performed by The Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE). This is in part because the smooth, inert surfaces are less likely to pick up dirt and so are easier to clean. For all the environmental and efficiency
benefits offered by the bearing units, the most important factor to a plant manager is probably their ability to reduce the risk of contamination – and cut the chance of a product recall. Controlling the growth of tiny microbes
Specifying a bearing unit that is resistant to the washdown process, and needs no relubrication, will save time while also reducing waste
will ultimately help to avoid contamination problems. In a similar way, attention to detail at component level can help deliver top-line environmental and efficiency benefits. It really is true that small savings add up to large ones.
SKF
www.skf.co.uk PROCESS & CONTROL | MAY 2019 35
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