<span style="font-weight: bold;">Effective lubrication programme helps Bhushan Power &amp; Steel increase hydraulic efficiency and annual savings exceeding $96,426.</span> <p></p> <p> Steel is one of India's largest industry sectors in terms of value and volume. The figures of India's crude steel output, which grew 10.7 per cent YoY to 25.76 million tonne (MT) during January-March 2017, testifies how the industry has been on a steadfast growth trajectory.</p> <p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Heavy machines for steel </span><br /> A variety of small, big and light, and heavy machines such as cranes, slew drives, agitators, winches, conveyors, lifters, excavators, etc, are used by the steel industry for the manufacturing of different varieties of steel. </p> <p>These equipment must be reliable and strong to match the heavy rigid applications in which they are used in. Hence, it is imperative to ensure safety, avoid costly machine downtime, and provide exceptional wear-resistance. </p> <p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Importance of lubrication </span><br /> Lubricants play a critical role in machine reliability and in order to achieve lifetime longevity, and operations of equipment such as gears, bearings and engines. It it is necessary to protect them from severe conditions such as extreme temperatures and corrosion. Safeguarding equipment performance and reliability has become paramount for operators, and the first step towards achieving this objective would be to implement a disciplined lubrication management programme. </p> <p> Bhushan Power &amp; Steel - A case report Bhushan Power &amp; Steel (BPSL) is a planned engineering service account customer of ExxonMobilÖ. In order to meet the demands for its products, BPSL operates complex machinery daily in multiple shifts to maintain optimum output. </p> <p>The manufacturing requirements necessitate the use of various types of in-house processes and machinery which require specialised lubricants including hydraulic fluids, gear oils, greases and cutting oils. </p> <p>Situation analysis: BPSL has 31 excavators for various operations inside the plant; one of them being the Tata Hitachi EX350 LCH LCH-V excavator. The previous lubricant used for the hydraulic system in the excavator resulted in shorter oil drain interval (ODI) of 1,500 hours and was hampering the productivity and increasing overall maintenance costs.</p> <p>Counsel from MobilÖ Field Engineering Services: BPSL required a lubricant with higher ODI which facilitates improved productivity and reduces maintenance costs. BPSL found the required solution through the experts from ExxonMobil's Field Engineering Services (FES). These experts carried out the hydraulic inspection, thermal imaging of the hydraulic system in the Tata Hitachi EX350 LCH-V excavator. The oil that was being used until then was taken through the Mobil ServSM Lubricant Analysis (MSLA). Based on the investigation, they recommended the use of Mobil DTE 10 ExcelTM 46 for higher ODI and filter change over intervals in the excavator. </p> <p>The result: Mobil DTE 10 Excel 46 and PES programme helped extend the ODI by 2.7 times and drop in temperature of the Tata Hitachi excavator by 4oC. </p> <p>Regular monitoring of Mobil DTE 10 Excel 46 through MSLA by assessment of oil condition, machine wear and contamination levels helped in increasing ODI and filter life from 1,500 hours to 4,000 hours. This eventually lead to an annual savings of $96,426.32 for BPSL.</p> <p>Speaking on ExxonMobil's success in providing a customised solution to BPSL requirements,<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Imtiaz Ahmed, Asia Pacific Mobil SHC Brand Manager, ExxonMobil,</span> said, 'The results that Mobil DTE 10 Excel 46 delivered for Bhushan Power &amp; Steel has demonstrated our technology leadership, which helped in advancing productivity and reducing the customer's maintenance cost effectively. ExxonMobil is committed to continue to develop solutions for its customers and partners under strict industry standards and protocols to ensure efficiency, safety and longer equipment life.'</p> <p></p>