Lubrication Best Practices from a Hoarder of Information

When it comes to lubrication, Scott Arrington relies on 34 years of information gathering to ensure he always has the correct answer for his oil and gas customers.

By Michelle Segrest, Navigate Content, Reporting for Maintenance Technology Magazine

Scott Arrington is a hoarder—a self-described hoarder of information, that is. The World Wide Web is not big enough to hold all the information upon which he relies. In fact, he has so many manuals, binders, and oil samples, he needs two offices—one to work in, and another to contain all the valuable records, documentation, and research he will never throw away.

Arrington is the Lubricants Technical Manager at G&G Oil Company, Muncie, IN. When a customer calls with a question, he wants to be sure he has the correct answer. “I have abundant resources to make sure we make the correct recommendation the first time and can quickly answer questions from customers. I keep all records of opportunities we have already experienced.” 

As a college student, Arrington worked part-time for the company painting convenience stores, bumper poles, and canopies, and performing maintenance.

“It was a great summer job, and it helped me to get familiar with the business,” Arrington said. “When I graduated from Depauw University (Greencastle, IN) in 1986, I was still looking for a full-time job and the owners of G&G Oil (Bill Gruppe, deceased; Hoyt Neal, retired; and Dale Flannery, retired) were gracious enough to allow me to come work for them in a sales position. They helped me get interviews with a couple major oil companies. I received some nice offers, but when I measured what I really wanted to do and where I really wanted to be, staying here was the best option for myself and my family.”

When making that crucial decision, the opportunity to work with people and with a smaller company were key factors.

“When I graduated from college with my science and physics background, I knew I didn’t want to spend my life in a lab,” he explained. “I was looking around at different options and the owners of G&G Oil offered me a position where I could use my science background to help sell lubricating products while not being tied down to a desk. I was able to get out in the field and see many different and interesting mechanical operations. It was something new every day.”   

Thirty-four years later, Arrington remains loyal to G&G Oil, and now makes significant contributions—in particular with his deep technical knowledge and impact on the lubrication and oil-analysis programs. 

Solving Lubricant-Related Issues for an Oil Company

It is Arrington’s passion to help customers and prospects solve lubricant-related issues. “From my numerous years of experience and attendance at many major oil companies’ learning seminars, I have been able to absorb quite a bit of knowledge to assist companies and individuals with their lubricating problems,” he said. “I can also assist them with ideas and programs to decrease their total lubrication expenses.”

It is Arrington’s responsibility to answer technical questions from customers and prospects, working directly with key accounts, assisting salespeople with technical sales calls, maintaining current formulas and developing new products, maintaining and updating technical data sheets, approving all raw materials used in formulations, and approving new finished products that G&G distributes for other companies. 

Arrington’s team includes a customer-service manager, a logistics manager, a production manager, and a sales manager. He also works closely with the sales representatives to make sure they are supported with sales opportunities and assistance with current customer questions.

Many of the customer’s questions include inquiries about machine recommendations. “Customers will call in with questions about a certain brand of product for a certain machine,” Arrington explained. “I will delve into the exact specifications of the product they are telling me about and come up with a recommendation of a product we represent—whether it is a G&G Oil-branded product, a Shell Oil-branded product, or from many of the other brands of products we distribute. I try to take away the aura of the name of the specific brand, and assure them that if you don’t have that exact brand, the machine will not keel over and die. I educate the customer about my recommended product and that their warranty won’t be voided if they use another product brand. The warranty will still be in good standing by using the specification of the product, and not necessarily the brand of that product, in their machinery.”

Maintaining Proper Equipment Lubrication

Arrington said he lives and breathes with a simple philosophy—“Learn all you can, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.” For him, the importance of good lubrication is simple.

“If you don’t have proper lubrication in your equipment, it won’t run the way it’s designed, which will lead to unscheduled maintenance opportunities,” he explained. “If your machinery doesn’t run, you can’t make products to sell. If you can’t make products to sell, your business will suffer and you possibly won’t be around very long! If you are using improper lubrication practices, your machinery will not run at the optimum level. Your maintenance costs will go up because you will have to replace components more often and you will have more unscheduled downtime. Your total maintenance spend will increase if you are not using the correct lubrication product and applying it at the right time, or monitoring it at the right times to make sure your machinery is running at its optimum level.”

Arrington recommends the following lubrication best practices:

• Follow OEM instructions.

• Develop an oil-analysis program that emphasizes:

  • condition of the machinery

  • trending how the machinery is functioning

  • tracking excessive wear of components

  • information about the oil (oxidation, contaminants, additives).

• If you don’t have your own in-house oil-analysis laboratory, partner with a reputable and certified independent oil-analysis provider. Even if you have your own lab you should use an independent lab to occasionally check your results.

• Use different testing procedures to ensure customers can fully see the condition of their machinery.

• Use proper sampling equipment and procedures.

“A good oil-analysis program is like having a blood test for a human. It can tell you if you have problems with a vital organ or some other part of your body that you may need to look into to take medicine for or have surgery,” Arrington said.

“It’s the same with oil analysis—it tells you if the ‘organ’ in the machine is running properly or if it needs to be examined or replaced because it may have excessive wear or other problems, causing it not to work to its optimum level. A good oil-analysis program allows you to be proactive to schedule maintenance instead of being reactive to a break down.”

Lubrication Challenges with New Products

One of Arrington’s biggest challenges, he said, is developing and producing formulas for new products that G&G Oil can offer to its customers. 

“It’s challenging because of the many different obstacles you’re trying to overcome, especially in the metal-working and metal-removal fluids field. You’re trying to formulate a product for the customer that will have a long life span for the fluid, a good clean finish for the part, and will provide long tool life,” Arrington explained.

There are several different types of additives that can be used, depending on what kind of metal is being manipulated or type of operation being performed. “You have to use the correct balance of those additives to give you an optimum performing product,” he said.

“I rely heavily on my additive manufacturers to give me guidance. When I have special projects, I consult with them. I design a product in the lab and then collaborate with my suppliers to get their opinion on whether they think it will work or not.  Fortunately they agree with me most of the time! The formulating depends a lot on what the application is. You have a pool of additives and base oils that you know about. It’s just trying to blend them together correctly to give you the best-performing product for the customer.”

Finding Inspiration from Information

Learning and then hoarding information provides constant inspiration for Arrington. As an example, he points to the adage, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for life.” It is advice he implements in his own work, every day.

Arrington has been married to Stephanie for 20 years and has two teen-aged daughters, MiMi and Ellie. He gives similar advice to his children.

“I’m sure they get tired of it,” he said. “I try to give them advice of the failures I have had in the past—no matter how big or how small—and remind them how important it is to learn from them. I also try to get them to look at the big picture. I want them to see the repercussions of their actions. It may seem like a small thing, but it could be a big thing down the road. I try to be a great representative of myself and my family and my company. My children are growing up in a different time with different challenges and problems, but we all need to learn from history and our mistakes.”

Michelle Segrest is President of Navigate Content, Inc., a full-service content creation firm. She has been a journalist for more than three decades and specializes in covering the people and processes that make a difference in the industrial processing industries. Contact her at michelle@navigatecontent.com