What is the leading cause of equipment failure in plants, mills, and other industrial facilities?

If you guessed “improper or inadequate maintenance,” you win. Every year, industrial operators around the country lose millions of dollars to downtime for repairs, equipment replacement, unnecessary lubricant expenses, and other losses that could be prevented with the adoption of a comprehensive asset reliability program.

When implemented correctly, an asset reliability program increases productivity, reduces maintenance costs, and prolongs the life of your expensive industrial machinery. By partnering with an asset reliability solutions provider, like Walthall Oil’s WARS team, your facility can see actual cost savings immediately and significant savings over the long run.

Let’s examine asset reliability programs, what they involve, and how they save money, time, and hassle.

What Is an Asset Reliability Program?

Your facility’s equipment makes up one of your most valuable classes of assets. An asset reliability program seeks to maximize the productivity and service life of those assets by improving your team’s ability to perform regular, effective maintenance on that machinery. A complete asset reliability program might include:

• Complete maintenance schedules and procedures for each piece of machinery in the facility
• Strategies for minimizing maintenance supply costs, such as consolidating products and reducing product waste
• Development or improvement of a facility’s lube room or other lubricant storage solutions
• Assessment tools such as lube analysis to help identify emerging faults
• Training for your team on proper lubrication and maintenance techniques
• Contamination control processes and procedures to mitigate lube contamination issues
• Regular assessment of maintenance effectiveness and machine function to identify areas for improvement

Asset Reliability Programs Streamline Your Maintenance Ops

Each piece of industrial equipment has unique maintenance requirements, service intervals, and product specifications for lube, coolant, and other consumables. Without an asset reliability program in place, all of your equipment’s preventive maintenance remains uncoordinated, with service scheduled at random times, no consolidation of lube products, and no lubrication training for your team.

A comprehensive asset reliability program provides structure, consolidation, and training for your maintenance operations:

• Your asset reliability solutions provider can identify machines that can use the same lubricant products, simplifying your supply chain
• Maintenance is coordinated and scheduled according to the real-world needs of your equipment, preventing over- or under-servicing of any piece of machinery.
• Your asset reliability consultant can arrange and conduct training for your team to improve maintenance performance.

Asset Reliability Programs Improve Production Performance

A machine that isn’t properly maintained does not properly function. Even before a piece of equipment fails, its performance suffers as increased internal friction causes motors, shafts, actuators, and other moving parts to run slower and hotter.

With the increased wear due to inadequate lubrication, a critical failure is inevitable. And while the loss in productivity from inefficient machinery is bad enough, the losses from the complete shutdown of one or more production lines can be cataclysmic.

By providing a detailed structure for maintenance ops, tools for contamination control, and functional assessment tools, your asset reliability program can prevent performance problems and shutdowns:

• Regular maintenance ensures that machinery is running with an adequate supply of fresh, clean lubricant or other consumables.
• Contamination control measures prevent degraded, hydrated, or other contaminated lubricants from causing undue wear or damage.
• Analysis of used lubricant and other functional assessments identify issues while they are still minor, permitting repairs while they’re still smaller and more affordable.

Asset Reliability Programs Prolong Equipment Lifespans

Quality asset reliability measures make your equipment run more efficiently and effectively and keep it running longer. No matter how much it costs to set up your comprehensive reliability program, it will cost considerably more to replace just one machine on your production line.

On a long enough timeline, all equipment will eventually fail. However, how long that timeline runs is entirely dependent on how well the equipment is maintained. Some factories and plants in the US are getting reliable daily service out of machinery that was built well before WWII. They’re able to get that service because they’ve taken the time to carefully and intentionally maintain their machinery.

Ideally, that’s your goal: only replace a piece of equipment when it’s no longer needed, not because of a breakdown or failure. By adopting an asset reliability program, you can help ensure that your machinery lasts even beyond its warranty life.

An Asset Reliability Program Is Within Reach

How can you implement a complete asset reliability program, given the thousands of other responsibilities you have to meet each day? That’s where an asset reliability partner comes into play.

If you enlist the services of a skilled asset reliability team, like Walthall Asset Reliability Solutions (WARS), they’ll help you with every step of the process. The WARS team will:

• Perform a thorough assessment and evaluation of your equipment and operations.
• Identify potential product consolidations, too-short service intervals, and other areas where your maintenance program can be more efficient.
• Develop lube storage and contamination control tactics to help you keep your lube products organized, clean, and secure.
• Conduct used lube analysis to identify problems while they’re still small.
• Train your employees on both fundamentals and specific processes for lubrication.
• Carry out project-based services like pre-commissioning to improve your asset reliability further.

Need a New or Improved Asset Reliability Program? Let WARS Help!

The Walthall Asset Reliability Solutions (WARS) team is ready to be your full-service reliability partner. From asset reliability consulting and staff lubricant program training to equipment specification, pre-commissioning, and other project-based services, we offer our customers personalized services that keep their vital machinery working in top form. Give us a call today to find out how WARS can work for you! (478) 781-1234

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