Digitised lubrication: Greasing the manufacturing industry

By OEM Update Editorial August 7, 2019 3:01 pm IST

ExxonMobil has always played the part in the progress of the industrial revolutions, says Shankar Karnik, General Manager, Industrial Lubricants, ExxonMobil Pvt Ltd. where he discusses how digitised industrial lubrication ensures optimum equipment performance.

How does the future look for IIoT in manufacturing?
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has become the buzzword for many industries, ranging from telecom, logistics, manufacturing etc. As these industries evolve, the need for accelerating the efficiency and productivity of various operational processes is rising, relatively. Talking specifically about manufacturing, we see a lot of manufacturers adopting IIoT enabled technologies.

How essential has it become for the sector to invest in IIoT?
IIoT helps in catalysing and transforming various industrial operations. It is of paramount importance to bring about the revolutionary benefits of predictive and proactive maintenance, real-time monitoring, resource optimisation, efficient diagnosis and much more. It enables a connected and smart manufacturing enterprise by enhancing decision making, increasing security and productivity, profitability as well as improving overall collaboration across the enterprise. It provides the right information at the right time, to help optimise operations.

Given the promising offerings of IIoT, and the overall government agenda of boosting the manufacturing sector, I foresee increased investments in IIoT related technologies. It has become essential for the sector to invest in efficient technologies and automation solutions now, in order to be in sync with the dynamic needs of the new age customer.

Could you discuss about your company’s preparedness in this front?
ExxonMobil has always played the part in the progress of the industrial revolutions, where industrial lubrication ensured optimum equipment performance. For over 150 years, innovation has been our core focus in providing the best lubricant solutions for manufacturers, where ExxonMobil continues to make breakthrough innovations that redefine the power of lubrication.

How is lubricant industry adopting IIoT?
One major issue that has been pertinent for the manufacturing sector is the performance of heavy duty machinery. Lubricants play a crucial role in ensuring consistent protection and performance of equipment to minimise financial losses. That said, oil-health analysis becomes a quintessential program that ensures reduced downtime and increased reliability of equipment. However, the traditional oil analysis process is laborious and costly, and may cause unscheduled downtime, production delays and reduced operational efficiency. Furthermore, the diagnosis from the analysis could also impact their productivity, safety, and environmental goals. Industrial lubricant and greases makers are therefore shifting towards digitised lubrication practices.

Can you please walk us through what Mobil ServSM Lubricant Analysis is?
ExxonMobil, with a long history of working with equipment manufacturers, worked to develop a modern, app based platform. A model of ‘Mobil going Mobile’, was developed to reach every end-user through a regular and convenient operational interface.

Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis (MSLA), a mobile-enabled used oil analysis program was launched in 2016. MSLA is designed to enhance efficiency and simplify the oil healthy analysis process by replacing a paperwork-heavy approach with a simple, intuitive mobile-enabled service platform that reduces the number of steps involved in the used oil analysis process.

MSLA is a solution that manufacturers need to take to move towards Industry 4.0 and digitisation. The platform streamlines the entire oil analysis process – from initial sample gathering to final reporting, with QR coded scan-and-go sampling bottles that deliver used oil samples to ExxonMobil’s oil analysis laboratory. Customers can also leverage application-specific analysis options which allow them to access results and perform customised equipment recommendations directly on their mobiles or tablet devices, saving them from unnecessary downtime that could affect production output and delivery deadlines.

“IIoT technologies bring together the physical and digital world to enable man and machine make informed and real time decisions”
Shankar Karnik, General Manager, Industrial Lubricants, ExxonMobil Pvt Ltd.