Definition
Lubrication management is the organizational program covering lubricant selection, storage, re-lubrication scheduling, sampling, and record-keeping across a plant's assets. It is the planning and governance layer that decides what lubricant goes where and when, as distinct from the lubrication system, which is the physical hardware that delivers it.
Key facts
- Covers selection, storage, scheduling, sampling, and documentation: the organizational program, not the physical delivery hardware.
- Decides which lubricant, in what quantity, at what interval, for each specific asset or component.
- Oil analysis results typically feed lubrication management decisions about re-lubrication or lubricant change intervals.
- Poor lubrication management (wrong lubricant, contamination, missed intervals) is a common root cause tracked back through failure analysis.
Why does Lubrication management matter in maintenance?
Lubrication management covers deciding which lubricant type and quantity each asset needs, storing and handling lubricants to avoid contamination, scheduling re-lubrication or oil-change intervals, and tracking oil analysis results and consumption across the plant.
How do maintenance teams apply Lubrication management?
A lubrication system is the physical hardware (reservoirs, pumps, lines, and distribution points) that delivers lubricant to a specific machine. Lubrication management is the organizational decision-making and scheduling layer that governs what goes through that hardware, when, and in what quantity, potentially across many different lubrication systems plant-wide.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How is the selection, use, and management of lubricants organized?
Through lubrication management: selecting the right lubricant for each asset, storing and handling it correctly, scheduling re-lubrication, and tracking oil analysis and consumption records across the plant.
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