Operational Guide - 6. Investigating Task Completion and Compliance Issues

This chapter describes how to investigate and resolve issues with the execution of lubrication work. It covers the conditions most commonly seen in task status and compliance reporting — what each condition means, what it may indicate and the recommended action.

This chapter deals with lubrication execution rather than equipment faults. Where the cause is a hardware or communications fault, refer to Chapter 7.

In this chapter:

Investigation Process
Time-based Violations (Scheduled Events Not Completed)
Recurring Time-based Violations
Grease Type Violations
Over-grease and Under-grease Violations
Untracked Grease Events
Data Quality and Synchronisation Issues
Operator Performance
Corrective Actions
When to Escalate

Investigation Process

A consistent process makes investigation faster and the results comparable over time.

1. Confirm the data is complete

Check that the relevant Head Units have synchronised and that the reporting period is not missing recent activity. Incomplete data is the most common cause of an issue that turns out not to exist.

2. Confirm the configuration is correct

Check the affected points in the GreaseBoss Cloud: schedule, target volume, tolerance, grease type and tag mapping. An incorrect requirement will distort the result in either direction — work performed to the asset's true need will appear as a violation, and work performed to the incorrect requirement will appear compliant. Confirm the requirement is right before investigating the execution.

3. Establish the pattern

Determine whether the issue affects one point, one asset, one route, one Head Unit or the whole site, and whether it is new or recurring.

4. Identify the likely cause

Use the sections below to narrow the cause based on the pattern observed.

5. Investigate in the field if required

Inspect the point, the tag, the fitting and the access conditions. Speak to the operator who completed the route.

6. Take corrective action

Complete the required correction, whether that is a configuration change, a tag replacement, a schedule adjustment or additional training.

7. Verify the result

Review the following period's data to confirm the issue has been resolved and has not returned.

Time-based Violations (Scheduled Events Not Completed)

What It Means

A task was due within the reporting period but no corresponding grease event was recorded before it expired.

Where You See It

VIEW	HOW IT APPEARS
Compliance dashboard	Reduces the Right Time percentage
Activity — Tasks	The task shows a red cross in the Compliant column
Compliance Report	Listed under Time-based Violations (Scheduled events not completed), with the due date and expiry date for each point

What It May Indicate

The point was not visited during the run
The point was reached but could not be greased, for example because of access or isolation
Grease was delivered but not recorded against the point, which appears as an untracked grease event instead
The Head Unit did not synchronise before the period closed, so completed work had not reached the Cloud
The schedule frequency is shorter than the route can realistically support

Recommended Action

Confirm the Head Unit has synchronised before anything else, since unsynchronised work looks identical to work that was never done. If the data is current, review the route with the operator to establish whether the point was reached.

A point that generates no tasks cannot produce a violation, so this list will never include points that are unmapped or have no schedule. Those are counted separately — see Chapter 5.

Recurring Time-based Violations

What It Means

The same tasks are consistently completed late or not completed within the scheduled period.

What It May Indicate

The schedule frequency does not match available resources
The route is too long to complete within the time allocated
Points are located where access is restricted or requires isolation
Work is being deprioritised against other maintenance activity
Shift patterns or crew availability do not align with the schedule

Recommended Action

Review the schedule against the time and resources actually available. Consider splitting long routes, resequencing route order to reduce travel, or adjusting frequency where the lubrication requirement allows. Recurring overdue work is usually a planning issue rather than an operator issue.

Grease Type Violations

What It Means

The consumable assigned to the Head Unit did not match the grease configured for the point, and grease was delivered anyway.

Where You See It

Reduces the Right Grease percentage, and the affected tasks are listed under Grease Type Violations in the Compliance Report.

What It May Indicate

The wrong Head Unit and gun combination was used for the route
The consumable assigned to the Head Unit in the configuration is out of date
The consumable configured for the point is incorrect
Grease types have been consolidated or changed on site without the configuration being updated

Recommended Action

Confirm what grease is physically in the gun, confirm the consumable assigned to that Head Unit (Dashboards → Health → Head Units, then the serial number, under Consumable), and confirm the grease required at the affected points. Either side of that comparison can be wrong. Where grease was delivered after a wrong grease warning, assess whether the point requires purging.

What this measure cannot see

The comparison is between the Head Unit's assigned consumable and the point requirement. The Head Unit cannot identify the grease physically in the gun, so a gun filled with the wrong grease produces no violations at all: every delivery is recorded against the assigned consumable and reports as compliant.

Nothing in the data will reveal this. It is controlled by process — one grease type per gun, clear labelling, and a configuration change whenever a gun's grease changes.

Over-grease and Under-grease Violations

What It Means

The volume delivered fell outside the tolerance range configured for the point.

Where You See It

Reduces the Right Amount percentage. The Compliance Report lists the affected tasks under Over-grease Violations and Under-grease Violations, each showing the volume required, the tolerance, the volume delivered and the percentage by which it was out.

What It May Indicate

The operator did not wait for the target reached indication, or continued past it
The target volume configured for the point is incorrect
The tolerance applied to the account is too tight for manual delivery at that point
The grease gun is not delivering consistently, or is partially blocked
The point itself is restricted, blocked or has failed
Access makes it difficult to observe the Head Unit screen while greasing

Recommended Action

Check whether the deviation is consistent or random. Consistent deviation in the same direction usually indicates a configuration issue; random deviation usually indicates technique, equipment or access. Where a point suddenly begins to accept far less grease than before, inspect the point for restriction or blockage.

Target volumes can be corrected in the dashboard. Volume tolerance cannot — it is a backend setting, so where the tolerance itself is the problem, contact GreaseBoss Support with the affected points and the delivered volumes you are seeing.

Untracked Grease Events

What It Means

Grease was delivered and metered, but the Head Unit could not identify which point received it.

What It May Indicate

The operator's hand was covering the coupler and blocking the RFID antenna
The GreaseTag is missing, damaged or incorrectly fitted
The point has not been mapped
Neighbouring tags are interfering with each other
The point was greased with a coupler or gun that has no Head Unit fitted

Recommended Action

Review connection technique with operators first, as this is the most common cause and the easiest to correct. Test-read the affected points with the Head Unit, inspect the tags, and replace or remap where required.

Data Quality and Synchronisation Issues

What It Means

The information available in the GreaseBoss Cloud is incomplete, delayed or inconsistent with what was done in the field.

What It May Indicate

The Head Unit is not being returned to its charger between runs, so activity is only uploaded on the overnight synchronisation
The Head Unit is being stored out of range of the Gateway, so it is not synchronising at all
The Gateway has lost power or network connectivity
Configuration changes have not yet reached the Head Unit
Points have been added in the Cloud but not yet mapped to tags
Tag mapping has been completed in the app but not yet uploaded, because the device was out of mobile coverage

Recommended Action

Confirm the gap between occurred and uploaded timestamps, confirm the Head Unit has been seen recently, and confirm the Gateway is powered and communicating. A consistent overnight lag usually means the unit is in range but not being charged; no data at all usually means it is out of range. Reinforce the habit of charging and synchronising between every run. Refer to Chapter 7 where a hardware or communications fault is suspected.

Operator Performance

What It Means

Issues are concentrated around a particular operator, route or Head Unit rather than distributed across the site.

What It May Indicate

Training gaps, particularly around reading the screen and connection technique
Uncertainty about what to do when an unexpected screen appears
Unreported access or equipment problems on that route
A Head Unit or grease gun in poor condition assigned to that route

Recommended Action

Treat this as a coaching opportunity rather than a compliance failing. Confirm the operator understands the screen indications, the connection technique and the expectation to report points that cannot be greased. Confirm the equipment assigned to that route is in good condition. GreaseBoss offers regular remote training sessions.

Corrective Actions

Corrective actions generally fall into four categories.

CATEGORY	TYPICAL ACTIONS
Configuration	Correct target volumes, grease types, schedules and route order in the dashboard. Volume tolerance is a backend setting — contact GreaseBoss Support to have it changed
Field	Replace or remap tags, repair fittings, improve access, service or replace grease guns
Process	Restructure routes, adjust schedule frequency, reinforce charging and synchronisation
People	Retrain on screen indications and connection technique, clarify reporting expectations

Each corrective action should be verified in the following period's data. An action that has not changed the result has not resolved the cause.

When to Escalate

Contact GreaseBoss Support where:

The cause of an issue cannot be identified after investigation
An issue persists after corrective action has been taken
Multiple Head Units or a Gateway are affected at once
Recorded data appears inconsistent with what was performed in the field
Configuration changes are required that cannot be made in the dashboard

Providing the asset and point names, the reporting period, screenshots of the affected records and a summary of the actions already taken will allow support to respond more quickly.