SOLIDOL / 16 / Practice

The grease change should survive the next shift

A transition record connects the old product, the new decision and the installed equipment.

A replacement purchase can create an information gap before anyone touches a machine. The stores record may name one grease while a service cart carries another, and a later technician inherits only the instruction “use the new one”. A transition record should preserve the asset identity, previous product if known, proposed replacement and the reason for the change. An unidentified residue remains an unknown, not an inferred thickener family.

Changing across thickener families requires evidence for the actual products and application. SKF’s compatibility tables distinguish thickener and base-oil considerations and include cases requiring tests. A chart entry is not an approved transition procedure for a particular machine. Record the advice obtained from the equipment and lubricant suppliers, including any conditions or testing they require, instead of treating shared colour, consistency or a familiar Solidol label as permission.

The handover also needs a clear account of what was authorised, what was completed and what follow-up the responsible team specified. Proposed, approved and implemented are different states. Keep the exact data-sheet revision and relevant OEM instruction with that history. This article provides no generic flushing, mixing or repair method, and no universal recommendation for brakes, sealed hubs, CV joints or hot or high-speed assemblies. The record should make unresolved decisions visible to the next shift.