Contamination Control Objectives: Cleanliness And Dryness

With contamination being the leading cause of machine failure, one of the most important sections of a lubrication program is contamination control

- Travis Richardson

Most plants I have visited have spent a lot of time and money creating a defensive machine design. While this is a proactive step to help machines ward off contaminants, this is really just a starting point. Contamination control objectives state how clean/healthy the lubricant inside a machine should be. This is a true measurement of how good or bad your contamination control program is.

Before defining contamination control objectives, it is best to have a good understanding of what contamination means in relation to lubricants. Simply put, contamination is anything that can damage or harm a lubricant or machine, such as solid particles, water and heat. When setting objectives, it is best not to use a broad-stroke, or a one size fits all approach. There are many factors that should be considered, such as machine type, risk of failure, cost of downtime and cost to repair. The objectives for each of these factors may be quite different due to the fact that contamination could affect them in different ways.