Why Frequent Relubrication is Costing You More Than the Lubricant Itself

Why Lubricant Cost is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

It’s common to fixate on the price per gallon of oil or pound of grease, but we invite you to look at the bigger picture. Industry studies indicate that the acquisition cost of a lubricant accounts for only 1% to 5% of your total maintenance budget. 

However, here is the alarming part: failures rooted in poor lubrication management can swallow between 15% and 40% of that same budget. When you expand your analysis beyond the supplier’s invoice, you’ll realize that the cost of deficient (or excessive) lubrication is significantly higher than any savings gained by negotiating the product price.

The Hidden Costs of Excessive Frequency

When you relubricate more than necessary, you trigger a series of hidden costs that far outweigh the material value:

• Labor and Logistics: Every lubrication task consumes man-hours. If your frequency is too high, you are constantly paying technicians for routine tasks that add no value, instead of focusing them on predictive inspections.
• Downtime: Oil changes or regreasing usually require machinery to stop. The production loss during these halts almost always costs more than the lubricant being replaced.
• Premature Waste: According to STLE-backed studies, 30% of lubricants are changed while they still have useful life. This not only doubles your purchasing costs but also inflates waste management expenses and environmental impact.

How to Reduce Your Lubrication Costs Today

If you are looking to optimize your strategy, we suggest focusing on these four pillars:

1. Select the Optimal Lubricant for the Application: Don't skimp on critical assets. As Noria points out: "It is dangerous to attempt to save money by purchasing economically formulated lubricants for a critical application." A specialized lubricant reduces intervention frequency.
2. Proactively Extend Service Life: Forget fixed calendar intervals. Implement condition-based lubrication supported by lab analysis and condition monitoring. This ensures you change the oil when the equipment needs it, not when the clock says so.
3. Optimize Intervals with Technology: Automatic systems deliver the exact amount while the machine is running. This eliminates human error and avoids stopping production for manual greasing.
4. Minimize Leakage: A sealed, clean system is the foundation of economy and reliability.