The solution reduced the volume of open gear lubricant by 60% with a resultant saving of ZAR 3m per annum.
Application
The total waste / loss application system for lubrication of open gears was changed to re-use the lubricant.
Identify
By working collaboratively with the customer, the extremely high cost of lubrication the open gears and the total waste of the product were identified as part of an improvement project.
Agree
It was agreed to use a high performance lubricant Castrol Tribol 8031 for the lubrication of the open gears, and to investigate means of reducing the volume, or re-using the product to reduce the cost. As TR8031 is a gel based lubricant it can be filtered and re-used. A small modification to the gear guards was required to allow the collection of the lubricant an prevent severe contamination.
Deliver
The lubricant is collected on site at the mill – and transported to a facility where it is filtered and tested to ensure it meets the required cleanliness levels. The product is then re-used and the process is repeated until it is not fit for purpose at which time it is disposed of as normal oil – reducing the disposal cost of normal open gear grease and reducing the overall cost as the consumption is reduced by 60%.
