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Lubrication schedule template

A lubrication schedule lists every lubrication point on a machine with the lubricant, the method, the amount and how often, and who does it, so each point gets the right lubricant in the right amount at the right time. Too little lubrication wears bearings, chains and slides; too much or the wrong kind causes failures too. In autonomous maintenance, the simpler points go to operators as part of their clean, inspect, lubricate and retighten routine, and the rest stay with maintenance. Page 1 of this template has a row per lube point with lubricant, method, amount, frequency, operator or maintenance, time, last done and next due. Page 2 is a month of sign-offs per point and a log of abnormalities found. The Excel version works out the next due date from the last done date and the frequency, flags overdue points, works out the minutes per week for operators and for maintenance, and has a record sheet.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the lubrication schedule templateFields for machine, asset number and area, keys for frequency and who does it, and a table of lube points with lubricant, method, amount, frequency, who, time, last done, next due and notes.
Lube pointsLubricant, method and amountFrequencyOperator or maintenanceNext due datesMinutes per weekMonthly record and abnormalities

When to use it

When to use a lubrication schedule

  • For every machine with grease points, oil levels, chains, slides or gearboxes.
  • When handing basic lubrication to operators as part of autonomous maintenance.
  • After a bearing, chain or gearbox failure traced to lubrication.
  • When lubricants are mixed up, or nobody is sure which points were done.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Find every point

    Walk the machine with the maker's manual and number each lube point on the machine and in a photo.

  2. 2

    Write the standard

    For each point: lubricant type and grade, method, amount (shots, ml, fill to level) and frequency, from the manual.

  3. 3

    Split the work

    Give operators the points they can reach safely with the machine in a safe state; keep the rest with maintenance. Check the minutes per week fit the time available.

  4. 4

    Color-code

    Match the color on each point to its lubricant and grease gun, so the wrong lubricant cannot go in.

  5. 5

    Sign off each point

    Initial the day each point is done, and update the last done date. Anything abnormal gets a tag.

  6. 6

    Review

    Look at overdue points and abnormalities each week. Points that are always dry or always leaking need a fix, not more grease.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a packaging machine with 14 lube points (illustrative).

Who does the example machine's 14 lube points

  • Operators: 8 points
  • Maintenance: 6 points
  1. Operatorsabout 20 min a week
  2. Maintenance (averaged over the year)about 25 min a week

8 of the 14 points go to operators, about 20 minutes a week; 6 go to maintenance, about 25 minutes a week averaged over the year.

Operators take the frequent, simple points (grease nipples, the chain, the sight glass); maintenance takes oil changes and the less frequent greasing.
  • 8 points to operators: 6 grease nipples weekly (2 shots each), a chain oiled daily, a gearbox sight glass checked weekly.
  • 6 points to maintenance: two gearbox oil changes yearly, the two main bearings and the sealing jaw guide rails greased monthly, the vacuum pump oil quarterly.
  • Operator time: about 20 minutes a week. Maintenance: about 25 minutes a week averaged over the year.
  • In the first month, two grease nipples were found blocked and one chain dry on a Monday after a long weekend.

The blocked nipples were replaced, the chain oiler moved to the start-of-shift check, and no point was overdue for the rest of the quarter.

Common mistakes

  • More grease is better

    A bearing packed too full runs hot. Put the amount on the standard and train it.

  • Mixed lubricants

    The wrong grease in a point can fail it. Color-code points, lubricants and guns.

  • Points nobody can reach

    A point that needs guards off will be skipped. Move it with a remote line, or keep it with maintenance.

  • Ticks with no look

    Lubrication is also inspection: a leak, a dry chain or a blocked fitting is a finding, not a tick.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite each machine's clean, inspect, lubricate and retighten routine is a checklist on the operator's Daily Standard Work, assigned to a person, a role or the machine with a repeat rule, and missed checks show in red.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Lubrication schedule template: common questions

  1. Every lube point on the machine, with the lubricant type and grade, the method, the amount, the frequency, who does it, and the last done and next due dates.

  2. As the maker's manual says for each point, adjusted for how hard the machine runs and its environment. Heat, dust and washdown usually mean shorter intervals.

  3. The simpler points, yes: it is part of autonomous maintenance. Train them on the standard, color-code the points, and keep points that need guards off or special skills with maintenance.

  4. Time per point multiplied by how many times a week it is done: 7 divided by the interval in days, with a month counted as 365.25 divided by 12 days, and every shift counted as daily times your shifts per day.

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