Pulsarlube Installation

We were asked to scope a solution to a reliability problem with manual lubrication at Downer Teralba Asphalt Plant.

Management submitted our proposal & soon after, were awarded the job to supply, install & commission an automatic grease system using “Pulsarlube” automatic lubrication technology, specifically the M250 Pulsarlube units with custom grease bladders.

The units were chosen to provide an automated supply of grease to multiple bearings throughout the plant, eliminating almost 100% of manual labour required & the arduous task of greasing bearings at various floor levels of the plant & to also help reduce worker fatigue & negligence.

The current lubrication process has been carried out by manual labour dispensing random shots of grease from grease guns. Team members have to climb many flights of stairs, sometimes bending at the knees in many locations to dispense the grease throughout the plant performing the role of manual greasing.

It is solely reliant of operator expertise & due diligence to pump the correct amounts into the bearings. The cost of this at the time was roughly $30k per year

We identified over 100 grease points that needed to be lubricated which would possibly equate to a Downer Team Member spending up to 8 hrs per week greasing the bearings using the current method.

After meeting with the Plant Manager & listening to his pain points with manual lubrication issues, it was decided to proceed with the “Pulsarlube” equipment to be installed at specific greasing points throughout the plant.

The Pulsarlube M250’s are programmed to run automatically & to dispense the correct amounts of grease into the bearings.

Main benefits are that when the grease runs out after a predicted period of time, it takes only seconds to change out the grease bladders by the means of custom grease filled service packs.

Upon replacement of the service packs, the unit is rebooted by the operator & lubrication recommences according to the chosen range of pre-set dispensing cycles.