The Situation
The customer uses SKF LGLT High Speed Grease to lubricate liner door bearings on their trains. With this grease only supplied in tinned containers of either 900g or 25kg, the customer was having to manually transfer the grease into applicator guns to accurately lubricate the bearings in question. This process was incredibly time-consuming and wasteful, with up to 30% of grease simply being lost. It also resulted in contamination of gloves and cleaning cloths that then required special disposal.
The Solution
HAYLEY DEXIS, along with their partners at Kildens, proposed a solution that was accepted by a number of depots under the jurisdiction of the customer. The solution was a prefilled cartridge containing 350g of SKF LGLT High Speed Grease, that was designed to fit perfectly into a standard grease gun. The cartridge would dramatically reduce the time required to prepare the grease for application, and also prevent such large volumes of grease being wasted during transferral. Being a more user-friendly quantity and size, the grease was also suitable to be made available in the customer’s network of smart VENDtm industrial vending machines.
"THE COST-SAVING TO THE CUSTOMER STANDS AT AROUND £25k P.A."
The Result
The new specially-designed cartridges are currently in-use across three depots, with a vision to expand this roll-out in the near future. The four hours every week previously taken to transfer the grease from tin to applicator gun have been now been freed-up for more effective use of time. The consequences of contamination, such as ineffective lubrication and glove and cloth disposal, have also now been eradicated. Thanks to significantly reduced wastage, the cost-saving to the customer stands at around £25k p.a. The cartridges are now available at the point-of-use within smartVENDtm machines, giving immediate access to the grease to those that need it.