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Lubricant Identification
Tag Best Practices and
Innovations
Manuel Lombardero, MBA, CMRP, PMP
Maintenance Manager, AES Corporation

SOLUTIONS VOL. 14, ISSUE 2

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The Lubricant Identification Tag

At facilities worldwide, the use of lubricant identification (ID) tags
is becoming standard practice. Typically, these are plastic tags
that contain equipment lubricant information, such as the type
of oil to be used along with a color or shape designation for each
lubricant. The main purpose of these tags is to facilitate lube
oil identification and minimize lubricant cross-contamination.
These lube ID tags are an important component to any effective
lubrication program.

Keeping it Simple
There are several providers of lube ID tags, offering different
information with some more customizable than others. The
purpose of these tags is to make life simpler, not just for the
lube technicians, but for everyone. Therefore, it’s important
to keep that concept in mind to ensure tags are simple and
easy to decipher. Even the most basic information can become
unnecessarily cumbersome.

This is how the process normally goes – you have gearbox

that uses FemtoLube Gear 32, a made-up product for example
Figure 1: Sample Lube ID Tags with QR Codes on Reverse
purposes only.

• Your first instinct is probably to label it as such, but then

you think, “Should the oil brand be included? What if I
change providers? Should I include alternate lubricants?”
• So, you do some research and find that there is
standardized lubricant classification under ISO 6743 and
this will solve the problem of committing to a particular
brand. After a few hundred dollars in norms, and a little
bit of reading, your lube ID tag ends up reading
“ISO-L-CKE-32.”
The Extras
There is additional information that might be useful to include
in the tag, most of it depends on your company’s practices and
internal processes. Here are a few ideas:
• Reservoir Oil Capacity: When performing an oil change,
technicians will know how much used oil will have to be
drained and how much new oil to bring to the equipment.

If ISO 6743 codes make sense to your purchasing department,
warehouse, technicians and operators, then congratulations!
You have achieved a very high lubrication culture in your
workplace, give yourself a pat on the back – you’ve earned
it! But, if you are like the rest of us, go with your first instinct
and label it as “FemtoLube Gear 32.” Everyone understands
what that means and even without color-coding, a brand-new
technician will be able to put the right oil in your machine, which
is what the tag is there to assure.
• Inventory & Material Number: Assures that the lubricant
has been codified as an inventory item and will facilitate
requesting new lubricant from the warehouse or purchasing.
• E
quipment Number: Allows validation that the tag has been
placed on the right equipment. If it comes off for some reason
(i.e. painting) it makes it easy to find where it goes.

What if you change your lubricant provider? Well, just change the You have achieved a very
tags and be sure to take into account the cost of changing tags
high lubrication culture in your
when you decide which type to purchase. There are economic
benefits to negotiating medium- to long-term contracts with your workplace, give yourself a pat
oil suppliers to help assure changes won´t happen too often.
on the back – you’ve earned it!
But, if you are like the rest of us,
go with your first instinct and
label it as “FemtoLube Gear 32."

WWW.SMRP.ORG
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• Lubricant Safety Data Sheet: The QR code helps to ensure

valuable safety data sheet (SDS) information is readily
accessible for employees to comply with OSHA’s Hazard
Communication Standard. The SDS includes guidance on
personnel protective equipment, first aid procedures and
spill clean-up procedures.
• Maintenance Procedures: Include filter and oil change
procedures, oil filter specifications or lubricant compatibility
charts – basically anything that will make life easier.
• Multimedia: There’s no need to limit the information to
documents, the QR code can also link to video procedures,
the latest sound file recorded with ultrasound meter,
images or even interactive content.

Figure 2: Some QR Code Possibilities
Conclusion
If implemented correctly, the lube ID tag can add a lot of value
at a relatively low cost. Thanks to QR codes, the lube ID tag
can become much more than just a lubricant label. Customized
labels provide the right information when needed and can
become the doorway to a world class lubrication culture.

References
Making it Better
-ISO 6743 - Lubricants, industrial oils and related products
Adding a QR code to your tags is relatively cheap and a big (class L) -- Classification
game changer. When you use a conventional tag, the amount of
information that can be supplied is limited to the printable area
on the tag, which is at most a few inches. With a QR code, your
imagination becomes the new limit.

Useful, complimentary lubrication information to link to the QR MAY

code include:
14-17
• Lube Oil Sampling Procedure: Oil sampling procedures are
fundamental components of oil analysis programs as they
2019
guarantee repeatability of sampling, add formality to the
lube oil program and help new team members get up to THE
speed. What better way to make it available than to have it
digitized right at the equipment to be sampled. CONFERENCE
• Oil Analysis Results: Having the oil analysis results linked REGISTER
via QR code facilitates the dissemination and organization by March 15
WHERE ULTRASOUND
of valuable information. & SAVE! MEETS RELIABILITY!
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and gain access to both!

With a QR code, Workshops

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your imagination LOCATION Networking Opportunities

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SOLUTIONS VOL. 14, ISSUE 2