Wheels for large industrial equipment require lubrication to allow operations to run smoothly,
and JSG Industrial has a variety of solutions on offer.
Mining companies and rail network operators in Victoria have long faced the challenge of keeping tracks and rolling stock in top condition across vast, varied and often remote landscapes. This is why properly lubricated wheels are needed to keep stock in top condition.
For decades, manual lubrication of wheel flanges and rail curves was a labour-intensive and high-risk task.
With JSG Industrial’s engineered systems, smart rail loop controllers and advanced telemetry, however, operators can keep this equipment lubricated while maintaining efficiency, safety and environmental compliance – and all without unnecessarily sending technicians into the field.
JSG Industrial regional sales manager Michael Sipman said one of the primary drivers behind automatic trackside lubrication was reducing wear on wheel flanges and rail infrastructure.
“The other one is noise mitigation,” he told Mining. “In populated areas with sharp curves, you often get squealing from trains – it’s to reduce that.”
The systems have proved especially valuable in remote regions, where sending staff to lubricate rails manually posed logistical, safety and cost challenges.
“With telemetry available, we can monitor the condition of that lubrication system from a desktop in an office,” Sipman said. “If we need to change the settings – for example, after heavy rain – we can add additional lubricant remotely.”
JSG’s telemetry allows operators to fine-tune rail wheel lubrication cycles, adjusting the number of wheel passes before a cycle starts, controlling the amount dispensed, and monitoring grease levels in real time. Units are solar-powered and equipped with tamper alerts; if someone opens a lid, the system instantly sends a notification to the control centre.
This level of control has translated into significant operational savings.
“If you’ve got a lot of lubricators across a wide area, physically inspecting them is a huge commitment of time, labour and travel,” Sipman said. “Now you can view everything in real-time, without the added costs of remote accommodation, meals and safety risks.”
JSG’s high-pressure, solar-powered rail wheel lubrication systems are designed for extreme reliability in remote or challenging environments.
“We have customised containers and installations that can withstand the elements,” Sipman said. “If there are any issues, you see it on your desktop immediately.”
The systems draw on SKF Lincoln’s automatic lubrication technology, part of a long-term collaboration that pre-dates JSG’s integration into SKF.
“We don’t just give something grease every so often,” Sipman said. “We assess bearing failures, conduct root cause analysis, and engineer solutions that improve performance and reliability.”
While rail is a major focus, JSG Industrial’s solutions extend to heavy mobile machinery, crushing and conveying systems, and ship loaders.
“These machines can have hundreds of lubrication points,” Sipman said. “Manually lubricating them would be almost impossible.”
SKF also produces environmentally friendly lubricants for marine and agricultural applications, helping to ensure compliance with environmental standards.
One of JSG’s major strength lies in its extensive distributor network across Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Asia.
“We support our distribution with engineering expertise from both SKF and JSG,” Sipman said. “This allows us to audit, maintain, and optimise lubrication systems at scale.”
This article appeared in the Spring edition of Mining Magazine.
