Lubrication Experts

Overcoming friction wastes between 20-30% of a country's Gross Domestic Product, and most of this will be the energy costs to overcome friction. Additionally, it is estimated that wear contributes about 3% of GDP (machines breaking down, cost of replacement parts, cost of downtime etc.).

That makes lubricants an extremely important part of business sustainability. Even if you don't believe in climate change, business sustainability is inclusive of both carbon emissions and energy costs. With the cost per unit of energy currently skyrocketing like never before, isn't it time your business looked to your lubrication program to help cut energy use?

Maintenance and reliability teams are hurting from a lack of resources. Whether its shortage of parts, shortage of staff, shortage of budget, or shortage of support, the pressures on these professionals have never been greater. Redlist recently took a survey of it's customers across a number of industries and have been able to tease out some common themes.

EVs are here. Whether you like or not, it seems that both regulation and the markets have decreed that battery-based vehicles are the future. As usual, the lubricants industry will rise to the occasion and adapt to the needs of this new technology platform. But e-fluids have some very specific and niche requirements. In this episode, Adam Banks from Afton chemical sits down with Rafe Britton to explain.

World class maintenance. World class reliability. Word class asset management. What are these? What does it take to be "world class" in these domains? Thom Schiff has a wealth of experience on both sides of the equation, both on the ground in maintenance teams, as well as leading lubrication suppliers. He helps to spell out what it take to be world class, and crucially, how improving your maintenance and reliability program can result in important safety benefits.

Compressor oils are awesome. It's the ultimate blend of mechanical engineering, chemistry and fluid dynamics. But in my experience with many industrial customers, there is a gap in understanding regarding the interaction of the compressor oil with the compressed gas, as well as the nbuances of the formulation. Jim once again steps in helpfully to enlighten.

Piston rings are an essential component to the operation of any reciprocating-style equipment, be they internal combustion engines or compressors. What you may not appreciate is that 40% of the friction generated inside an engine is at the piston-liner interface, which makes the solid and liquid lubrication of this component absolutely critical. In this discussion, Lake Speed Jnr talks about the evolution of piston rings, bore technologies, and how this is all enabling ever-lower viscosities.

Become a Lubrication Expert: https://lubrication.expert

Rafe Britton is a lubrication consultant that turns machinery into well-oiled, reliable machinery. He helps clients achieve maximum uptime by setting up procurement processes such that they are oriented to lubrication reliablity, transforming their contamination control programs, selecting the correct lubricants for the application, training their workforce to a world-class level, and helping to turn oil analysis data into valuable insights. He firmly believes that there is an industry-wide knowledge gap regarding lubrication technologies and is aspiring to close this gap affordably by using digital tools.

Asset Management, Reliability, Maintenance, Lubrication. They're all slightly different, so Rafe talks with a specialist in the field to get his take on all things related. We talked about P-f intervals, remaining useful life of assets, oil sampling, oil analysis, certification programs and more.

SAS Asset Management: https://sas-am.com

Become a Lubrication Expert: https://lubrication.expert

Reliability It Matters podcast: https://accendoreliability.com/series/rim/ 

Industrial gear oil formulation is an interesting business. The first gear oils were more or less just cut back engine oil formulations, but as technology and manufacturing methods achieved higher levels of sophistication, gear oils were rebuilt from the ground up to better serve the needs of industry. Ion this wide-ranging conversation covering everything from base oils and additive, to the unique challenges of EV transmission fluids, Jim helps to break down these technologies.

Become a Lubrication Expert for $20USD per month: https://lubrication.expert

The mining industry is very capital intensive, making maintenance and reliability a key aspect of both safety and financial success. In this interview, two reliability specialists from BHP share what's going on in the industry, and what the future might look like. Hint: there are a lot more computers and robots, but also a lot more people.

Become a Lubrication Expert: https://lubrication.expert/product/lubrication-exchange/

Independent lubricant manufacturers in many ways represent the backbone of the industry. Most of the attention goes to the large multinationals, but in almost every country there are small to medium sized lubricant brands serving local industry. ILMA - the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association - represents these organisations in the US. I talked with their CEO, Holly Alfano and Director of Communications, Caitlin Jacobs about the unique challenges faced by the independents, as well as the advantages they might have over their larger counterparts.

Become a lubrication expert: https://lubrication.expert