Spring Cleaning for Your Lubrication Program

7 Simple Steps to Boost Equipment Reliability

When the weather warms and nature resets, it’s the perfect time for a reset in your maintenance practices too. Spring cleaning isn't just for closets, it applies to your lubrication program as well. A few simple steps now can make a major difference in uptime, cleanliness, and equipment health throughout the year.

Here’s a practical spring checklist to tidy up and optimize your lubrication and reliability efforts:

1. Purge the Lube Room

Just like any workspace, your lube room can collect clutter. Discard expired, contaminated, or unidentifiable lubricants. Wipe down equipment. Organize tools and make sure everything is clearly labeled. A clean room is a safe and efficient one.

2. Inspect & Clean Desiccant Breathers

Winter weather can lead to moisture intrusion, especially in underused or sealed equipment. Check all desiccant breathers for saturation and replace as needed. Dry air = clean oil.

3. Audit Your Tags and Labels

Has anything changed since last year? Check that all equipment tags, lubricant IDs, and transfer container labels are still accurate and legible. If not, update them with color-coded tags or weatherproof labels.

4. Sample and Analyze Stored Oil

Just because oil is “new” doesn’t mean it’s clean. Spring is a great time to sample your stored lubricants to verify ISO cleanliness levels and water content especially if containers sat through seasonal temperature and humidity shifts.

5. Inspect Viewports, Level Indicators, and Oilers

Take a walk through the plant and inspect all Viewports, Level Indicators, and Oilers. Look for fogging, discoloration, or damage. Replace any that are hard to read. Visibility is key for catching problems early.

6. Review and Refresh Lubrication Routes or Rethink Them Entirely

Use spring as an opportunity to re-evaluate your lubrication PMs. Are all points accounted for? Are some tasks still relevant? Could frequency be optimized? Better yet, if you're not yet using condition monitoring, consider implementing sensors to track temperature, vibration, relative humidity, or oil level. These tools can help streamline routes by flagging only the assets that truly need attention, freeing up time for your team to focus where it counts most.

7. Reinforce Team Training and Best Practices

A clean system starts with a well-informed crew. Spring is a great time to run a quick refresher on contamination control, handling procedures, and proper storage. Re-emphasize why lubrication matters it protects your assets and your uptime.

Wrap-Up: Spring Into Lubrication Excellence

A little attention now prevents big headaches later. With these simple spring cleaning steps, you’ll set your lubrication program up for success through summer and beyond. Whether it’s a wiped-down lube room, fresh Level Indicators or smarter PM routes, small improvements lead to big reliability wins.

Need help identifying where to start or how to improve your program further? We offer a Lubrication Program Assessment that can give you a clear roadmap, identify quick wins, and uncover long-term opportunities. Let’s make sure your lubrication efforts are aligned with your reliability goals this season and every season.