Defect Elimination from a Lubrication Perspective

One of the hallmarks of today’s best-in-class organizations is a recognition of the importance of reducing defects in processes and procedures. According to RoadToReliability.com, roughly 80 percent of failures that happen in a plant are failures that have previously occurred. Repeat failures tend to generate one of two courses of action: companies either become skilled at fixing the failures, or they seek out and address the defects that are causing those failures.¹

When DuPont engineers compared common maintenance approaches using computer simulations, they discovered the superior value of eliminating sources of defects. For example, when simulating a reactive maintenance environment with 83.5% availability as a baseline, the engineers concluded defect elimination alone boosted availability by 9.7%.²

An effective defect elimination program can provide a significant return on investment through improved asset reliability and increased uptime. Defect elimination is a proven strategy for improving reliability and becoming a best-in-class operation.

What do we mean by defects?

Everyone can think of examples of defects, but a formal definition would be any factor that erodes value, reduces production, creates waste, or compromises an organization’s health, safety, or environment.³

Defects aren’t always readily visible and may not even be noticed until they’ve triggered the chain of events leading to a failure. That’s what can make small and often invisible defects particularly insidious. Because nobody sees them coming, they tend to lead to reactive maintenance practices or shorter than average, more frequently scheduled maintenance intervals.

How does defect elimination relate to lubrication?

It’s easy for plant operators to grasp the concept of defects in parts or components because they can usually see the defects and recognize how the defects lead to equipment or system failure. Making the same connection with  lubrication may be a little more challenging but it’s no less important.

Generally speaking, as long as lubricants are replaced before the end of their service life, the term “defects” refers to the presence of contaminants that impair the lubricants’ normal performance. The two leading types of contamination in lubricants are particulates and water. In particular, the presence of particles in lubricants can cause damage to the very equipment the lubricant is intended to protect. According to Noria, 82% of mechanical wear is caused by particle contamination in lubricants.⁴ In addition, dirt and contaminants are the leading causes of hydraulic system failures.

The types of contaminants causing the greatest damage are invisible to the human eye and can only be detected through fluid analysis. Examples of these contaminants include dirt particulates, moisture, varnish, and gases. In addition to damaging equipment, contaminants may also reduce the performance of and shorten the intended life of the lubricant. 

Key strategies for defect elimination

The keys to defect elimination – keeping lubrication defects from having negative effects upon machinery – are attaining the ISO 4406 cleanliness level on new lubricants, and conducting regular testing on both new and in-service lubricants to confirm cleanliness and continued suitability for use.