by Drew D. Troyer

Despite vast improvements in base oil, additive and lubricant formulation technology over the past 40 years, overall lubrication effectiveness has been on a slow but slippery decline. This is largely due to the fact that very few craftspeople or engineers actually know how to properly lubricate machinery. That said, it is time to rethink your approach to staffing machinery lubrication activities.

While highly oversimplified, the chart below depicts a prescriptive model to guide managers with task assignment. The model considers task complexity and frequency.

Assign complex and/or important tasks that are performed with high frequency to skilled, in-house staff members, usually employees but occasionally long-term contractors. These are core competencies that are mission-critical.

Assign less complex tasks that are performed on a regular basis to general hands, usually employees.

Outsource highly complex tasks that are performed occasionally to contractors or firms that specialize in this area.

Assign less complex tasks that are performed occasionally to general labor hired on a temporary basis.

So where does machinery lubrication fit in this simple matrix depicted? The fact that machinery lubrication is a routine plant task is rarely debated. However, many managers mistakenly trivialize lubrication, wrongly assuming that oil is oil, grease is grease, and that if you can pump a grease gun, you can be a lube tech. As such, they mistakenly categorize machinery lubrication as a high-frequency/low-complexity task. On the contrary, I believe that when done properly, machinery lubrication is a high-complexity/high-frequency task that should be given to skilled, trained personnel.

In the past, most plants dedicated one or more technicians or engineers to machinery lubrication. A skilled individual, the lube engineer or technician, looked after selecting and applying lubricants. He analyzed and solved lubrication problems and participated in design activities. His special skills were valued and his contribution to machine reliability was recognized.

Over time, the lubrication technician or engineer was phased out in favor of assigning such tasks to general operators and/or mechanics. In plants where individuals are dedicated to the task of machinery lubrication, the job’s importance is trivialized. So-called “oilers” are often the plant’s least qualified individuals. Despite the fact that precision lubrication is a proactive activity proven to eliminate failures and increase machine reliability, lubrication tasks are not usually assigned to the cream of the crop. Rather, the plant’s more clever and experienced individuals are reserved to repair machines after they fail.

A good lube tech must possess a first-rate understanding about how machines run and why they fail. An experienced mechanic, millwright, mechanical engineering technician or mechanical engineer is a good start. That person must then supplement practical machinery knowledge with knowledge about lubricant chemistry and formulation, lubrication theory, tribology and reliability engineering.

In recent years, the tools available for assuring proper lubrication, such as oil analysis, ultrasonic monitoring devices, thermography instruments and vibration analysis meters, have become increasingly powerful and economically viable, thus further increasing the complexity of the lube technician’s job.

Once properly skilled, the lube technician must select, apply, troubleshoot, sample, and analyze lubricants and machinery lubrication. Likewise, this person must be a crackerjack diagnostician and always look for reliability improvement and/or cost reduction opportunities. Without doubt, a fully qualified lube technician or engineer is a highly skilled individual. Often, he or she has third-party certification as a lube technician and/or certification in using the previously mentioned condition monitoring tools.

Perhaps it’s time you took a fresh look at the role lubrication plays in achieving reliable plant operations. Then, with an appreciation of the complexity of machinery lubrication, evaluate the commitment you make in this area. Is it time you hire a qualified lube technician, or train and certify a top millwright or mechanic for the position?

Drew Troyer is the senior editor of Machinery Lubrication Magazine. If you have a lubrication or oil analysis question, contact Coach Troyer at or e-mail .

This article appeared in the February/March 2003 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright, 2003.

Back to top Back to MRO Coach archives