Is it enough to simply provide solutions in today’s business environment? Finding a quick solution to a problem is one thing, but a complete and functional solution involves many complex components. You may be scratching your head right now wondering, “Where the heck is this guy going?”
Today I want to talk about the difference between an easy solution, and an expertly created one.
We sell saw guide lubrication systems. We have been developing these systems for about 7 years now and in that time we have seen many different configurations be made. We use various components and completely different principles to make each system, based on what the customer wants the system to do. The end result is a lubrication system that is designed to do a very specific job, in a very demanding application. The funny thing is that the whole complex system is really just doing a very simple job, which is mixing water and oil to cool and lubricate the saws and guides.
What is so very frustrating sometimes is to get the customer to understand that this is indeed a simple machine doing a simple job, but it is only as good as the components and the equipment it is attached to. I find myself saying this a lot lately. Those who get it see tremendous results and those who don’t get it always blame something else for their less-than-tremendous results.
“The devil is in the details” has become my mantra. Anyone can put water and oil onto a saw, but there’s a lot more to it than that. How is it applied? What are the tolerances the guides are machined to? The clearances between the saws and guides? What is the alignment of the guides to the saws? The alignment to the linebar, and to the arbor? All the answers to these questions have a huge impact on how our system works.
The funny thing is that people always think it’s our system that is causing any performance issues. We can reduce the amount of water and oil consumed, but only if all the other factors above are checked, addressed and recognized for what they do and the impact they have on performance too. Some of those impacts can be even larger than what people recognize, or understand.
I’ve talked about my grandfather before, and the biggest thing he taught me in life is “the day you quit learning is the day you die”. Always be open to learning new things, and be open to someone showing you something that may be affecting why you are having problems.
My background is in lubrication, not saws and not guides. What we have learned these past 7 years has allowed us to make a better product and help identify why the performance is or isn’t there. If you are not seeing the performance you want to see, there is only so much that a simple water and oil application method can do to improve things. It’s time to start looking further into the equipment itself, and its components.
A number of equipment and component issues can affect performance: if the guide pocket isn’t deep enough, or is too deep, or the gap between the saws and the guides is too big (which allows water to fall out before it does anything). It can also be if the gap is too tight and is acting like a disc brake, or if the alignment of the guides is causing them to drag on the saws which generates heat. Improper alignment can also cause the saw to cut at an angle to the direction of flow. All these things have a huge impact on performance and just adding more water won’t fix any of them.
Most companies today that are providing solutions to this industry don’t really care about who set the guides up wrong, or did the alignment incorrectly, or who turned the water up so high and not the oil. They are focused on fixing the problem, not assigning blame. We are here to help you achieve the best performance you can, but you have to let us help you. Sometimes that means a slice of humble pie needs to be served for dessert.
Author: Dean Maier
Dean has been in the automated lubrication business for 25 years, with 85% of that time spent in forestry applications. We are delighted to have his insight with this latest blog.
Industrial Autolube International Inc.
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