How the right lubricant, interval and lubrication strategy can prevent failures and improve equipment reliability.
Lubrication reliability: reducing unplanned downtime
Poor lubrication rarely appears on a downtime report as the final cause. The recorded failure may be a seized bearing, worn chain or overheated gearbox. But the process often starts earlier: an unsuitable lubricant, contamination, incorrect quantities or missed lubrication intervals can accelerate friction, wear or corrosion until a component eventually fails.
Lubrication reliability means controlling these risks systematically, and measuring whether failures, maintenance interventions and unplanned downtime actually decrease.
What lubrication problems lead to unplanned downtime?
Not every equipment failure is lubrication-related. Misalignment, incorrect installation, overload, fatigue and electrical or mechanical faults can also cause breakdowns.
When lubrication is involved, however, the failure often follows a recognisable chain:
lubrication problem or contamination → loss of effective lubrication or surface protection → increased friction, heat, wear or corrosion → component degradation → failure → downtime
The most common lubrication risks therefore need different responses:
| Lubrication risk | Possible consequence | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong lubricant | Friction, heat and wear | Match lubricant to operating conditions |
| Under-lubrication | Insufficient protection and wear | Apply the right amount at the right interval |
| Over-lubrication | Churning, heat and seal damage | Control grease quantity |
| Contamination | Wear, corrosion and lubricant breakdown | Prevent contamination and protect the lubricant |
| Missed intervals | Loss of lubrication performance | Define and monitor intervals |
The objective is therefore not simply to lubricate more frequently. It is to maintain effective protection with the right lubricant, right quantity and right interval.
For a more detailed explanation of bearing failure mechanisms, see why bearings fail prematurely and how lubrication intervals can be extended.
How can lubrication-related downtime be reduced?
Start with the failure mechanism rather than the lubricant.
Look at the actual operating conditions: load, speed, temperature, water, contamination, cleaning chemicals, stop-start behaviour and existing wear patterns. A bearing repeatedly failing after washdown requires a different approach from a slow-moving heavily loaded slide or a chain exposed to high temperatures.
The lubricant must then be selected for those conditions. Changing to a higher-performance lubricant can improve reliability when the existing product cannot maintain effective lubrication or surface protection under load, water, temperature or contamination. But simply changing lubricant without understanding the problem can replace one failure mode with another.
Quantity and application also matter. Too little lubricant can result in insufficient protection, while excessive grease can increase churning and temperature and, in some applications, contribute to seal damage.
Where points are difficult to reach or require frequent lubrication, correctly specified and configured automatic lubrication systems can help deliver controlled quantities consistently.
Finally, optimise the lubrication interval based on evidence. Establish the current situation as a baseline, adjust the interval gradually within applicable OEM and engineering constraints, and inspect or monitor the application.
A longer lubrication interval is valuable only when equipment reliability is maintained or improved.
How do you know whether reliability is actually improving?
This is where lubrication optimisation becomes lubrication reliability.
Lower lubricant consumption alone is not evidence of improved reliability.
Using less lubricant may reduce purchasing costs, but the stronger question is whether equipment performance has improved at the same time.
Useful indicators include:
- MTBF: is the time between failures increasing?
- Unplanned downtime: are there fewer production stops or fewer downtime hours?
- Failure frequency: are bearings, chains or other components being replaced less often?
- Lubrication interval: can intervals safely be extended?
- Maintenance labour: are fewer lubrication and emergency interventions required?
Lubricant consumption: is less lubricant required while reliability is maintained or improved?
The strongest evidence comes from several indicators moving in the right direction together.
What can better lubrication achieve in practice?
The result depends on the application and the original failure mechanism.
Frozen bearings in spiral chillers
At a Belgian poultry plant, ambient air temperatures in spiral chiller zones reached –28 °C. Although bearing temperatures were higher than the surrounding air, condensation, moisture ingress and frequent sanitation created demanding lubrication conditions.
Bearings froze or seized two to three times per year per chiller, with each incident causing approximately one to two hours of downtime.
After changing the lubrication approach and applying Interflon Food Grease LT2 with MicPol® technology, the frozen-bearing failures were eliminated.
This represented approximately three to six hours of avoided downtime per year per chiller, in addition to lower spare-part requirements.
How frozen bearings were eliminated in a spiral chiller
Fryer conveyor bearings
At a French fries producer, plain bearings on fryer mesh conveyors repeatedly failed under demanding operating conditions, causing recurrent production stoppages.
Interflon Grease HTG was introduced to provide a more durable lubricating film under high temperature, steam and contamination.
The customer subsequently reported that the bearing failures and associated production stops had been eliminated, with estimated annual savings exceeding €60,000.
How fryer conveyor bearing failures were eliminated
These examples should not be interpreted as universal performance guarantees. They show what can be achieved when a clearly identified failure mechanism is matched with an appropriate lubrication strategy and the result is evaluated under actual operating conditions.
Coiler bearing interval and lubricant consumption at Euro-Mit Staal
At Euro-Mit Staal, a steel processing plant, coiler bearings were dismantled and relubricated monthly during an initial pilot period, used as the baseline to assess the wear pattern. Interflon recognised the pattern was linked to the lubrication approach and introduced Interflon Grease LS2 with MicPol® technology.
The lubrication interval was extended sevenfold, and lubricant consumption was reduced by a factor of ten.
How a steel coiler extended its lubrication interval sevenfold
From lubrication improvement to lubrication reliability
Solving one recurring lubrication problem is valuable. Managing lubrication-related risk across an entire plant requires consistency and traceability.
MicPol® technology is designed to help Interflon lubricants maintain durable lubrication under demanding operating conditions.
Application can be controlled manually or through automatic lubrication where appropriate.
ILAC® lubrication management software records lubrication points, intervals, execution and lubricant consumption, making changes and results traceable over time.
Interflon Lubrication as a Service (LaaS®) brings these elements together in a structured lubrication management programme focused on improving reliability, reducing unnecessary lubricant consumption and lowering lubrication-related maintenance costs.
The objective is not simply better lubrication. It is fewer lubrication-related failures and more predictable equipment performance.
Frequently asked questions
Poor lubrication can cause equipment problems such as premature bearing failure, excessive chain wear, seizure, overheating, corrosion and accelerated wear of sliding surfaces. Lubrication is not always the only cause, however. Operating conditions, contamination, load, alignment, installation and component condition should also be considered when investigating repeated failures.
Lubrication intervals can be extended safely by starting with a documented baseline, using a lubricant suited to the actual operating conditions and adjusting the interval gradually within applicable OEM and engineering constraints. Component condition and lubricant performance should be checked through inspection or condition monitoring where appropriate. An interval should only be extended when there is evidence that adequate protection is being maintained.
The effect of lubrication on equipment reliability can be measured by tracking several KPIs together, including MTBF, unplanned downtime hours, failure frequency, component replacement, maintenance labour, lubrication intervals and lubricant consumption. Lower lubricant consumption alone does not demonstrate improved reliability. Stronger evidence comes from reduced failures or downtime alongside longer intervals, lower maintenance effort or lower lubricant use.
Automatic lubrication can reduce unplanned downtime when inconsistent, missed or difficult-to-perform manual lubrication is contributing to equipment failures. Correctly specified and configured automatic lubrication systems can help deliver the required lubricant quantity at controlled intervals. Whether automatic lubrication reduces downtime depends on the application, operating conditions, lubricant selection, system configuration and the original failure mechanism.
