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, makers of the Lube-It lubrication management system, has released an SAP/enterprise asset management (EAM) interface. This feature enables transfer of inspection requests from maintenance technicians directly into the SAP maintenance notification queue for approval by SAP work planning supervisors. 

According to the company, the daily essential care and inspection routines provided by lubrication technicians can be a source of advanced “defect scouting.” The new interface helps the reliability engineer or supervisor responsible for maintaining daily essential care activities quickly and confidently transcribe observations into inspection requests. 

Technicians can make notes about issues of concern on a tablet during normal rounds and inspections. The note, or “trouble notice entry,” is placed in a queue for the group manager to approve and “auto-dispatch” to the SAP maintenance notification queue, where it is approved or rejected by planning managers. All relevant details are logged, checked, approved and deployed without generating a scrap of paper. 

The company says that lubrication technicians can be a source of insight into machine health needs, and with properly devised work practices, these technicians run task-focused routes that expose them to key production machines on a routine basis. They can observe and report on small changes before they become disruptive repairs. This system enables technicians to communicate directly with work planners while still having oversight from their direct line supervisors.