Quality control for lubricants

No matter what machinery, vehicle or equipment you use, lubricants in the form of grease or oil are vital in ensuring that your equipment operates smoothly. However, even if you have a good stock of lubricants at your premises are you sure it’s up to scratch?

A significant amount of mechanical problems arise for poorly lubricated machinery. Ferguson & Menzies supply to the automotive, industrial, agricultural, haulage and many more sectors. Lubrication quality control is an issue that our clients come to us with (from fault-free to nightmare scenarios) on a regular basis so in the interests of clarity here’s our take.

Problem:

If anything is left unattended for long enough it will deteriorate and lubricants are no different. In storage, oils, greases and additives can very quickly and easily become contaminated and the longer the exposure to the contaminant the more the product’s efficiency is degraded. We have heard of some machinery being lubricated with products which have been left in storage for years with the expectation that it will perform as well as it did on the day it was delivered. The results were not pleasant for the machinery or the business owners.

Solution:

Like a good service schedule for your machinery all lubricants in storage should should be subject to a rigorous monitoring regime. Creating a plan to take stock checks, and recording container levels and the dates on which the products were delivered and dispensed will ensure that products will be fit for use when the time comes.

For information or advice on how to improve your quality control for lubricants please contact us on +44 (0)141 445 3555, email us or use our online enquiry form.