A one-page readiness sheet for plant managers and reliability teams in Western North Carolina. From the team at Asheville Oil Company, the Authorized Mobil Distributor for WNC
Use this to plan your lubrication year, regardless of whether you ask us for a plant survey.
1. Gather before a plant survey
● [ ] Equipment list, with each machine's location and who looks after it
● [ ] The lubricant currently in each machine (product name and grade)
● [ ] OEM manuals or lubrication charts for the machines you care about most
● [ ] Purchasing records showing what has been ordered, and the PO process your accounting team uses
● [ ] Any past oil analysis reports, even old ones
● [ ] The name of one person who knows where the fittings, reservoirs, and sample ports are
2. Rank the machines
List the equipment whose failure would stop the line or cost the most to repair. Start your sampling with the top few and add more as the program settles.
| Machine | Failure consequence | Sample first? |
|---|---|---|
3. Take samples that can be compared
● [ ] Same sample point on the same machine every time
● [ ] Avoid sampling from a low point drain whenever possible
● [ ] Equipment running and oil at normal operating temperature
● [ ] Clean container for every sample
● [ ] Label with machine, date, and product in the sump
● [ ] Steady interval between samples
● [ ] Note any top-off or oil change between samples
4. Read the report as a trend
The first sample is the baseline for that machine. A lab report looks at three families of change:
● Lubricant Health: whether the fluid itself is still in good condition
● Contamination: water or dirt getting in
● Wear metals: what the machine itself is giving up
Trend the subsequent samples against the first. Direction matters more than any single number.
5. Questions to bring to the first conversation
● Is each product in our plant the right one for the application?
● Where are our intervals different from what the equipment calls for?
● Which machines should we sample first, and how often?
● If a result looks off, who can tell us whether to change the product?
● How are our lubricants stored and dispensed, and where could contamination get in?
● Do our breathers and filtration match the machines they protect?
What a plant survey produces
A walkthrough of your facility that maps your lubrication points and produces a written gap report. The report belongs to your team.
Ask about a plant survey or send questions: orders@ashevilleoil.com | ashevilleoil.com Asheville Oil Company, serving Western North Carolina since 1922
