Lubricant identification tabs have been used for many years in order to ensure that the right lubricant is stored in the right place, but despite this obvious solution to storing lubricants correctly, there are still few companies that use them to their full potential, and many who still do not use them at all. This is such a shame, because lube identification tags can really help to improve the reliability of machinery.
Distinguish between oils
Setting up a good lubricant tagging system is the simplest and most affordable way to ensure that you can distinguish between oils. For instance, using a colour coding system to tag oils and machinery will help to prevent the wrong oil being used in the wrong machinery, and tagging storage containers, pumps, etc., will ensure that there is no cross contamination, which can cause problems further down the line.
Shape and colour
IF you use both shape and colour identifiers, then you can extend the scope of the system even further by enabling staff to identify which oils can be used in a range of applications. Whereas, if you use colour only, your oil would be stuck with only one use, adding shapes can let your staff know that oils can be used in various scenarios, without confusion.
Longevity
Labelling lubricants in this manner also enables you to keep using a particular lubricant even if its name changes because staff will not rely on the name of a product when deciding whether or not it can be used in a particular application, making it easier for them to determine use, and thus decreasing waste as well as misuse.
Where lube tags need to be used
There are a number of places where you should use lube tags should be used if you want to make the most of them. They are:
• Drums, bins and pails
• Storage tanks
• Grease guns
• Waste oil containers
• Filter carts
• Top-up containers
• Machines
• Hoses
• Drum pumps
• Funnels
• Portable sampling hardware
• Handheld devices
It is fair to say that handheld devices are becoming more important in the machinery world, and many of these devices are able to read barcodes, which means that you may be able to implement barcode technology into your labelling system for even more accurate tagging systems in the future, which will ensure even less error and fewer machinery problems.
