Explain grease composition, including base oil, thickener and additive selection, for a given application.
Engineering & Maintenance
Automated Lubrication Systems and Grease Selection for Rotating Machinery
Learn to select the right grease, calculate re-lubrication intervals, and design and audit automated lubrication systems that keep rotating machinery correctly lubricated without over-greasing.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
Manual greasing depends entirely on a technician following a schedule with the right grease and the right quantity, and in practice intervals slip, grease guns deliver inconsistent volumes, and over-greasing damages seals and generates heat almost as often as starvation does. This course covers grease composition, base oil, thickener and additive selection, and the NLGI consistency grading system that determines whether a grease is suitable for a given application and operating temperature. It teaches the calculations behind re-lubrication interval and quantity, so participants can justify a schedule with numbers rather than habit, and covers the compatibility and contamination risks that arise when different grease types are mixed. The course then moves into automated lubrication system design, comparing single-point, progressive, dual-line and series system architectures, and covering sizing, component selection and installation practice for each. It finishes with programme management: integrating automated systems with oil analysis and CMMS records, and auditing an existing lubrication programme to find the over- and under-greasing risks that a schedule alone will not reveal.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Select an NLGI consistency grade appropriate to bearing type, speed and operating temperature.
Calculate re-lubrication interval and quantity for rolling element bearings using standard methods.
Identify grease compatibility and contamination risks that arise when lubricants are mixed or substituted.
Compare single-point, progressive, dual-line and series automated lubrication system architectures.
Size and specify components for an automated lubrication system appropriate to the application.
Audit an existing lubrication programme to identify over-greasing and under-greasing risks.
Who Should Attend
Lubrication technicians and engineers responsible for grease selection and application.
Maintenance planners designing or specifying automated lubrication systems for new or existing equipment.
Reliability engineers investigating bearing failures linked to lubrication practice.
Asset management specialists auditing lubrication programmes across a plant or fleet.
Millwrights and technicians who currently grease bearings manually and want a calculated approach.
CMMS planners integrating lubrication tasks and oil analysis results into maintenance schedules.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Grease Fundamentals and Selection Criteria
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Grease Composition: Base Oil, Thickener and Additives
- Explain the role of base oil viscosity, thickener type and additive package in grease performance.
- Compare lithium, lithium complex, polyurea and calcium sulfonate thickener types and their typical uses.
- Select additive packages appropriate to extreme pressure, high temperature or water contamination conditions.
- Read a grease data sheet to extract the properties relevant to a specific bearing application.
Session 2NLGI Consistency Grades and Application Selection Criteria
- Explain the NLGI consistency grading system and how it relates to grease firmness and pumpability.
- Select an NLGI grade appropriate to bearing speed, orientation and ambient operating temperature.
- Identify applications where a softer or firmer grade is required despite a common default selection.
- Avoid selecting grease based on availability alone when the application demands a specific grade or type.
02Calculating Lubrication Requirements
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Re-Lubrication Interval and Quantity Calculation Methods
- Calculate re-lubrication interval using bearing type, speed, temperature and contamination factors.
- Calculate the correct re-lubrication quantity based on bearing and housing dimensions.
- Adjust calculated intervals for vertical shafts, high vibration or washdown environments.
- Justify a revised lubrication schedule to operations using the calculation method rather than habit alone.
Session 2Grease Compatibility and Contamination Risks
- Check thickener and base oil compatibility before switching grease type on existing equipment.
- Identify signs of grease incompatibility, such as softening or hardening, during a changeover.
- Purge bearings correctly when changing grease type to avoid mixing incompatible products.
- Control contamination sources, including dirty grease guns and open containers, during application.
03Automated Lubrication System Design
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Single-Point, Progressive, Dual-Line and Series System Types
- Compare single-point, progressive, dual-line and series system architectures and their typical applications.
- Select a system architecture based on point count, distance and required dosing accuracy.
- Identify the failure modes and monitoring needs specific to each system architecture.
- Match pump and reservoir capacity to the calculated grease demand of all connected points.
Session 2System Sizing, Component Selection and Installation Practice
- Size feed lines, injectors and metering devices to deliver the calculated quantity to each lubrication point.
- Route and protect lubrication lines to avoid damage, blockage and unintended pressure loss.
- Commission a new automated system with a verification check at each lubrication point.
- Specify monitoring and alarm features that flag blocked lines or low reservoir levels.
04Managing and Auditing Lubrication Programmes
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Integrating Automated Systems with Oil Analysis and CMMS
- Link automated lubrication system data and alarms into CMMS work order generation.
- Use oil and grease analysis results to confirm that automated dosing is performing as intended.
- Set inspection tasks for automated systems so mechanical failures are not masked by their automation.
- Maintain a lubrication schedule and grease specification register alongside the CMMS asset record.
Session 2Auditing Lubrication Programmes and Preventing Over-Greasing Failures
- Audit an existing lubrication programme against calculated intervals and quantities rather than assumed good practice.
- Identify over-greasing symptoms, including seal damage and elevated bearing temperature, during an audit.
- Identify under-lubrication symptoms and their associated bearing failure modes during an audit.
- Recommend corrective actions and, where justified, a business case for automation to close audit findings.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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