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Operational Guide - 2. Understanding the System

This chapter explains how the Manual Greasing Monitoring Solution turns a lubrication program into work that appears on the Head Unit, and how the work that is actually performed is recorded and measured.

Understanding these concepts makes task status and compliance reporting much easier to interpret, because almost every result the system produces can be traced back to how a grease point has been configured.

In this chapter:

How Lubrication Requirements Are Defined

Every grease point monitored by the system is configured in the GreaseBoss Cloud.

The configuration defines where the point is, what it is called, what grease it requires, how much grease it requires and how often it requires it.

These requirements are determined by the customer and should reflect the lubrication needs of the asset. GreaseBoss does not set lubrication volumes or frequencies — these should be obtained from equipment suppliers, lubrication specifications or site lubrication subject matter experts.

The configuration is the reference against which all activity is measured. The system compares work against the configured requirement, not against what the asset actually needs.

Where a requirement is configured incorrectly, compliance reporting will be misleading in one of two ways:

  • Work performed to the incorrect requirement will be recorded as compliant, even though the asset has not received the lubrication it needs. A point configured at 20 g that actually requires 50 g will report full compliance while being under-lubricated at every event.
  • Work performed to the asset's true requirement will be recorded as a violation, even though the operator did the right thing at the machine.

The first case is the more consequential, because nothing in the reporting draws attention to it. Accurate configuration is therefore a prerequisite for meaningful compliance reporting, not simply a setup step.

 

Schedules — When Lubrication Is Due

A schedule defines how often a grease point requires lubrication — for example daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, two-monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, annually, and so on.

A schedule is assigned to the grease point. The same schedule is normally assigned to many points — across a single asset, an area, or a full lubrication route — so that those points fall due together and can be worked as one run.

Schedules determine when lubrication becomes due and when it becomes overdue. A point with no schedule assigned to it will never generate work, and will never appear as due on the Head Unit.

Points can also be given a route order so that they appear in a logical sequence for the operator walking the route.

 

 

Grease Point Requirements — What Is Configured at Each Point

Each grease point is held as a single record in the GreaseBoss Cloud, under Account Setup → Manual System → Grease Tags. That record carries the point's complete lubrication requirement.

FIELD WHAT IT DEFINES
Name The point name shown to the operator on the Head Unit screen
Asset The equipment the point belongs to
Location The area the asset sits in
Consumable The grease type required at that point
Volume (cc) The target volume for each lubrication event
Schedule How often lubrication is due at that point
RFID The GreaseTag fitted to the point, populated during tag mapping
Order The point's position within its route
Notes Free text for access instructions or local knowledge

Because the schedule sits on the point record alongside the grease type and volume, each point carries its full requirement in one place — when it is due, what goes in it, and how much. This is also why a single point can be corrected without touching anything else: changing the schedule on one point changes only that point's tasks.

Point names should be immediately recognisable at the machine. A name such as "RHS Roller Nipple" or "Main Shaft" tells the operator where to go. A name such as "Point 1" does not.

Volume is configured in cc and recorded delivery is reported in grams. For grease the two are close enough to be treated as equivalent in practice, and the terms are used interchangeably throughout this guide.

Volume is measured against a tolerance when compliance is calculated — the acceptable range above and below the target. Tolerance and its effect on results are covered in Chapter 5.

 

 

How Tasks Are Created

A task is the system's term for a required lubrication event.

Tasks are generated automatically wherever a grease point has a schedule assigned to it. Each scheduled point produces tasks at the frequency defined by that schedule, specifying the grease type, the volume required and the timing.

Tasks are not created manually. They are a direct product of the configuration, which is why configuration review is the first step in almost any investigation.

The Tasks table in the GreaseBoss Cloud reflects exactly what Head Units are loaded with when they synchronise. It is the definitive record of what operators are being asked to do.

 

 

What the Operator Sees in the Field

When the Head Unit is connected to a grease point, it reads the GreaseTag and looks up that point in the task data it holds.

The Head Unit will then indicate one of the following:

  • The point is identified and lubrication is due, with a target volume displayed
  • The point is identified but no lubrication is currently due
  • The point is not recognised, because the tag has not been mapped
  • The grease loaded in the gun does not match the grease required at that point

The Head Unit guides the operator but does not physically prevent incorrect delivery. Operators must be trained to read the screen and the LED before pumping.

Detailed LED and screen behaviour is covered in Manual System - GreaseBoss Head Unit (HU20) and in Chapter 3 of this guide.

 

 

How Activity Is Recorded

Each time grease is delivered, the Head Unit records an event.

An event captures:

  • When the grease was delivered, and separately when it was uploaded
  • The Head Unit that recorded it
  • The location, asset and point name
  • The RFID identity of the GreaseTag
  • The grease type associated with the Head Unit
  • The volume delivered, in grams

Events are uploaded when the Head Unit synchronises with the Gateway, and are viewable in the GreaseBoss Cloud under Activity.

The two timestamps mean different things. Occurred is when the grease was delivered at the point. Uploaded is when the Head Unit passed that record to the Gateway — on returning to the charger, on a manual sync, or on the overnight sync if the unit was left off its charger.

A gap between the two is normal, not a fault. Every event sits on the Head Unit until the next synchronisation, so the first point of a run will always show a larger gap than the last.

Further detail is available in Activity - Events and Tasks.

 

 

Comparing Actual Work Against Task Requirements

The value of the system comes from the comparison between the two records described above.

  • A task states what should have happened
  • An event states what did happen

For each task, the system assesses whether an event occurred, whether the correct grease was used, whether the volume delivered fell within tolerance, and whether the work was completed within the scheduled period.

The outcome of that comparison is compliance, which is covered in Chapter 5.

 

 

Purge Points

Some grease points do not have a defined target volume. The procedure at these points is to grease until old grease is purged.

These points are configured as purge points. Any delivery greater than zero is treated as compliant, and the actual volume delivered is still recorded.

Purge points allow points with unknown or variable requirements to be included in the monitoring program without distorting compliance results. Where a target volume is known, it should be used instead.

 

 

Untracked Grease Events

An untracked grease event is a delivery that the Head Unit recorded but could not associate with a grease point.

This occurs when the GreaseTag was not read at the time of delivery — most commonly because the tag is missing or damaged, the point has not been mapped, or the operator's hand was covering the coupler and blocking the RFID antenna.

Untracked grease events are recorded as activity but are excluded from compliance calculations. Grease was delivered, but the system cannot confirm where.

The consequence is indirect. The untracked event itself is not counted against compliance — it is simply left out. But because it cannot be matched to a point, the task it was meant to complete stays open, and is recorded as due and not completed. A route that was physically completed can therefore still report as non-compliant.

For this reason, a rising number of untracked events is worth investigating early, before the compliance result is read as missed work. Investigation is covered in Chapter 6.