 Lubrinomics 101 |
When the Editor used his coined term "lubrinomics" in a recent sales meeting and was confronted by blank, confused stares, it became apparent that a rerun of this classic Friday Fax article from 100 issues ago was necessary: As surprising as it may seem, occasionally otherwise seemingly sophisticated contractors try to save money by cutting out lubricant from their cable pulls. In one spectacular example of why this is not a wise financial move ... a large municipal utility in the Northwest hired a reputable engineering firm to design a distribution installation. Despite the engineer's use of the Pull-Planner™ to perform calculations and his strong recommendation to use Polywater® J on the pulls to achieve tension reduction goals, the utility's hired contractor pulled dry or used an inferior lubricant brand. When the cable got stuck, they brought in a crane to "persuade" it into place, resulting in $20,000 worth of cable damage. Add to that the harder-to-quantify cost of delay, extra labor, and recrimination--and you have an expensive lesson: $200 of Polywater® can prevent $20,000 of damage. Part of your job is to teach that lesson--free of cost--to your customers. Think of yourself as a Professor of Lubrinomics, if you must. |
