Tag: Lubrication Identification Tags

Using the right kind of lubricant for your machine is essential to ensure its long life and better functioning. You must be sure that you are putting the required lubricant in the right machine. Even daily workers might get confused when working with tons of lubrication types and end up using the wrong lubricant. Using the wrong lubricant on a machine can cause costly damages. For this reason, you must put identification tags on your lubricants. Lubrication identification is a crucial element in successful industrial operations. Many organizations emphasize using the right lubricant through lubrication tags, while others don’t use it at all. This blog post mentions what you need to know about lubrication identification tags.

What Is A Lubrication Identification Tag?

Identifying lubricants with their tags has made it easier to select the right lubricant for a particular machine. Lubrication identification tags are a type of identification tag with color-coding, numbering, shape, and other features that help to identify a type of lubricant. Color-coding is quite an effective strategy for identification. However, using only a color is not effective at identifying lubricants. As more and more categories become available, you will need more clarification to distinguish them. Nowadays, lubrication identification tags use shapes, colors, numbers, thickener types, and alphanumeric codes. This will all depend on the organization and what method they decide to use to identify their lubricants. Therefore, each organization will have its own idea of identification. Many are considering the combination of shape with color to increase the span of identifying lubricants. A lubricants identification tag can include:

• A general shape to identify the lubricants type
• The Alphabet for thickener type
• Alphanumeric code for lubrication identification
• Viscosity grade consistency number
• Code for lubrication classification

Weighing The Pros And Cons Of Lubrication Identification Tags

There are a handful of pros and cons of lubrication identification tags. The most important benefit is that it gives a unique identification to each kind of lubricant. It minimizes the chance of cross-contamination or using the wrong lubricant for particular machinery. It can avoid the cost of flushing. The usage of the right kind of lubricant can prolong the life of your machines. When there are numbers specified in a sequence for each lubricant, it will reduce the confusion of mislabeled lab samples. Furthermore, you can reuse your existing containers to put the same type of lubricant in it again and label them with their tags. However, there are some cons as well. There is always the possibility of incorrect labeling. Also, the combination of color and shape lacks creativity. When a lubricant supplier changes the name of the product or your company switches to a different brand, these two identifications will become useless, requiring extra monitoring of the lubrication systems identification. Therefore, identification tags can become ineffective if not kept up to date with the changing suppliers. Also, because these tags are made of cardboard, they can get too dirty to read if they are knocked off accidentally. However, a plastic coating can protect them from getting dirty. Other materials such as plastic, aluminum, or vinyl can also be used.

Where Can You Use Lubrication Identification Tags?

You can use identification tags on:

• Drums
• Pails
• Storage Tanks
• Top-up containers
• Filter carts
• Machines
• Drum pumps
• Funnels
• Portable Transfer Hoses

Putting lubrication identification tags on machines and comparing them with those on the container can also help workers avoid using the wrong type of lubricants.

Final Words

Fortunately, the cons of lubrication identification tags are preventable. Knowing which and when to use a lubricant for your machines can help in an effective lubrication process. Lubrication tags can minimize the confusion of mixing up the lubricants if maintained properly.

About Micro-Lube

Micro-Lube has been in the lubrication industry for years. We offer the best range of lubricants and related products, including filtration systems, dispensing, storage, and more. To learn more about us, click here.