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BInBev, which claims to be the world’s largest brewing company, is benefiting from optimised food-grade lubrication at its Wellpark Breweryin Glasgow by using outside service engineers to manage the crucial maintenance role. InBev says it has seen a noticeable reduction in machinery breakdowns due to poor lubrication
Under the contract, service engineers from ROCOL Lubricants make regular visits to the brewery where they work with the InBev engineering team. The service engineers work in both a consultative and practical capacity to maximise thebenefits of total lubrication management using their Foodlube range of NSF H1 registered products.
ROCOL service engineers conductthe lubrication application throughout the plant, ensuring all machinery is lubricated at the correct intervals and with the specified quantities in accordance with their schedule. Their aim is to ensure food and drink manufacturers can optimise their preventative maintenance approach and be confident that their lubrication requirements are being managed both in supply and application terms.
Making the difference
At the Wellpark Brewery, where major English brands including Tennent’s lager are brewed, ROCOL service engineers have made a difference in just twelve months, according to Colin Reilly, Maintenance Planning Manager at InBev. “We now have the complete confidence that the right lubrication is being used at the right time,” says Mr. Reilly. “As a result we have certainly seen a reduction in breakdowns caused through lubrication problems.”
The introduction of higher performance lubricants, which are managed and applied correctly, has extendedlubrication cycles, giving the service engineers time to look at bringing improvements to other production machinery at the brewery.
“Given the size of the plant, we initially asked ROCOL service engineers to concentrate on part of the plant,” says Colin Reilly. “However,their knowledge and expertise has improved the lubrication efficiencyin this first part of the plant to such an extent, that they are now able to look at further areas without having to spend additional time on site.”
Under the contract, ROCOL service engineers have alsoprovided training to InBev staff to provide them with an overview to lubrication throughout the brewery. Given the importance of knowing howand when to carry out the lubrication, this combination of well-trained brewery operators and on-site specialist support from ROCOL will helps to ensure the plant continues to make reductions in machinery downtime and improve production efficiency.
But managing the supplychain is also a key benefit that the service engineers bring as ROCOLManaging Director Steve Chapman explains: “We take complete control of managing lubricant stocks, ensuring products are delivered in the right quantities at the right time. We can keep this tightly controlledbecause we know exactly what requirements the plant has through the detailed assessments we conduct, and we have a reliable supply because manufacture all the products at our factory in Leeds. Here at InBev, this enables Colin Reilly to leave the responsibility for lubricants toROCOL which gives him more time to concentrate on other areas.”
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