Though the cost of oil may seem to be limited to the price tag, the truth is many organizations face additional hidden costs as a result of their oil purchases. Disposal costs coupled with labor expenses are bound to make any cost associated with the oil skyrocket. This doesn’t even consider the potential negative effects on productivity that poorly optimized operations with this oil can cause. Whatever the cost of a gallon of oil may be, any organization can expect to spend an exponentially higher amount when considering it will require two man-hours of direct labor and a purchase order for the oil to even make it in the hands of the organization.

If any organization hopes to reduce the amount they have to pay to make their oil effectively work, the first step is ensuring each piece of machinery is operating at optimal levels. The maintenance necessary to ensure that output is proper lubrication and completing regular oil changes. Finding the time to maintain this equipment becomes the toughest part for organizations, as failure to do so leads to unexpected costs. This post will provide a deeper dive into those costs.

Many organizations find themselves scheduling oil changes much too frequently and often with hopes to resolve an issue that is unrelated to the oil of their machine. It’s only after realizing that the issue goes further beyond the oil within the machine that organizations have realized they’ve wasted time and precious resources. Minimizing these instances are imperative for reducing costs.

Even worse than this erroneously scheduled maintenance is the potential damages that can stem from regular operations. Whether it be a result of a mistake or not, they can be very costly. Sump or reservoir adjustments, incorrect product output, or a drain that becomes cross threaded all cause unique issues that must be solved by organizations. Assuming the damage is manageable, organizations will have to payout less. However, these issues can lead to equipment failure, which can be much more costly.

Building off of what’s mentioned above, that equipment failure is what is most costly to organizations. For example, the most common reason for equipment failure is bearing malfunctions. About half of all reported failures are cited as a result improper lubrication or re-lubrication of bearings. This failure often calls for replacements of bearings, shafting or motors. While these can be purchased and replaced, failure to do properly can result in a machine becoming non-operational.

Organizations should do everything in their power to avoid these types of machine issues. As most of them are preventable, organizations should spend as much time as necessary to learn and educate themselves about the types of preventive measures available to them to avoid these issues. For more information on those preventive methods, such as re-engineering seals, be sure to take a minute and check out the infographic accompanying this post. Courtesy of Isomag.