Operator Duties

During the past few decades, failed mechanical equipment has cost industrial plants billions of dollars. Bad lubrication practices contributed significantly to these losses. Many self-inflicted errors were committed. Some examples:

a. Incorrect design of lubrication by the design engineers (uncommon).

b. Lack of technician training (very common).

c. Bad operational practices (very common).

The plant operators can play a key role in maintenance of plant reliability at an optimum level. In this section we will discuss operator functions regarding lubricating of mechanical equipment.