Manufacturers may be able to reduce their total costs
through better lubrication practices, as Castrol Industrial
explains

Many manufacturers now focus on
Total Cost of Ownership to help
them sustain competitive advantage.

This approach filters through to the way they
identify and approach suppliers and partners.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is the
approach that Castrol Industrial has adopted
for many years to help customers improve
their maintenance and production activities.

When considering Total Cost of
Ownership, manufacturers review and assess
the direct and indirect costs and benefits of
the materials they purchase. This includes
initial outlay, for example the unit price of
products and the volume purchased (direct
costs) and indirect costs affected by product
use (wear rate, safety risks, maintenance, etc).

The price of a lubrication programme is
often a small portion of the total cost of
ownership.Maintenance lubricants generally
account for about 3% of total maintenance
costs but can have a much greater impact on
the overall maintenance and production
budget due to the value they create upstream
and downstream. Costs are calculated by
understanding both the purchase cost and
the costs associated with further use,
maintenance and disposal of the products, as
well as any savings that are generated in
production activities.

It’s a complex activity to do a detailed
study of the total cost of ownership on every
lubricant used within a manufacturing plant,
particularly when there are hundreds if not
thousands of line items. Castrol focuses on
key operations and application hot spots
where it has experience and knowledge of
improving TCO.

The success of Castrol’s offers relies on
the company being able to validate and prove
the benefit they deliver. This requires a
detailed study of the application, and an
understanding of the total costs involved.

Case studies
In steel production, the hot rolling process
operates under heavy loads and extreme
temperatures. One manufacturer was
experiencing excessive levels of grease
consumption on work rolls and vertical
sliding surfaces, which meant the frequency
of re-lubrication was high. All lubrication
was done manually and the maintenance
costs were significant. Production also had to
be stopped frequently for maintenance to
take place. Castrol worked with the customer
using the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
principle. Detailed analysis of the work rolls
and related areas identified that the grease
being used didn’t give the necessary
performance required for the work rolls
application, causing problems of bearing
corrosion due to water ingress.

Castrol-selected Molub-Alloy 860 ES with
its high performance additives as it is
resistant to water washout and can withstand
the high pressures and loads experienced in a
hot mill. The lubrication interval increased
by more than 100% and grease consumption
reduced by more than 70%. This gave an
overall TCO saving in maintenance and
grease costs of 24%. Other benefits such as
lower waste disposal costs and increased
uptime have not been quantified but have
been realised by this manufacturer.

Equipment downtime reduction is a key
performance indicator in any manufacturing
business. One manufacturer within the
automotive industry was experiencing
spindle failures on a manufacturing line, a
key bottleneck process, which resulted in
costly downtime and replacements. This
operation employs hydrostatic bearings and
in one year there were five failures which
resulted in production downtime and repair
work costing £50,000. Castrol conducted a
detailed survey of the lubrication application
and identified that the oil condition and
lubrication regime was one of the key factors
leading to failure. A replacement product was
selected, supported by the Castrol Predict
service which provides analytical trends and
highlights abnormalities in the oil. This
supports a predictive maintenance strategy
to ensure equipment wear is reduced and
uptime maximised.

A spokesman at the site says: “The Castrol
programme has been very effective and we
recognise that value can be derived from the
new lubrication programme and the Castrol
Predict service. Since its introduction five
years ago, there has been a 96% reduction in
bearing failures and we are now planning to
extend the Castrol service to other key
manufacturing process equipment on site to
help us reduce our total costs and reduce
failure rates”.

Potential advantages claimed by Castrol
for the TCO approach when used correctly
and in the right circumstances include:
Increased component life and help in
reducing stock levels which may improve
working capital
Reduced maintenance labour
Reduced energy costs; some of Castrol’s
high performance gear oils, such as the
Castrol Tribol 1100 range reduce friction
and wear which can result in a lower
energy use
Benefits on the waste bill when longer life
lubricants are used; these extend
relubrication cycles and lead to a further
reduction of costs.