General Lubrication Concepts

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• Requirements
• Requirements
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• Overview
• Overview
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• Body Of Knowledge
• Body Of Knowledge
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• Domain Of Knowledge
• Domain Of Knowledge
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• Requirements for Recertification
• Requirements for Recertification
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To become certified, an interested individual must meet the following requirements:

• Education and/or Experience - There is no specific requirement for on-the-job experience. Candidates should exercise their judgment, along with input from instructors and/or employment supervisors, as they assess their proficiency and competence with respect to the GLC Body of Knowledge from an educational and experiential point of view.

• Training - Candidate must have received a minimum of five (5) hours of documented formal training as outlined in the Body of Knowledge of the GLC. Online or recorded training, exercises, practice exams, and review exercises may be included in the training but shall not exceed one hour of the required course time. Candidate shall be able to provide a record of this training to ICML that shall include the candidate’s name, the name and signature of the instructor, the dates of the training, and the number of hours spent in the training.

ICML does not require, recommend, endorse or authorize any specific training course as official or approved. It is the responsibility of each candidate to research training options available in his/her area and make a decision relative to the training options of his/her choice. ICML recommends the outline of any course of study be compared to the GLC examination's Body of Knowledge. It is in the person's best interest and their responsibility as an ICML candidate to ensure they are training and learning in the same subject areas in which they will be tested. ICML's GLC Body of Knowledge is of the public domain and may be utilized by companies in the development of courses, as well as by any prospective candidate, for evaluating the appropriateness of chosen training.

• Examination - Each candidate must successfully pass a 70-question multiple-choice examination that evaluates the candidate's knowledge of the topic. Candidates have two (2) hours to complete the closed-book examination. A score of 70% is required to pass the examination and achieve certification.

General Lubrication Concepts

This is a knowledge validation examination for operational support leaders and team members who must demonstrate basic lubrication and oil sampling/analysis competency. GLC candidates may not have adequate understanding of lubrication practices and related lubricant products to fully support their technically-trained colleagues, often due to a lack of technical experience and/or educational and training background. GLC candidates may serve in non-technical functional disciplines such as Executive Management, Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Manufacturing Planning, Procurement, Supply Chain (Storage and Distribution) and Accounting/Finance. Formalized training to prepare for the GLC examination will provide valuable perspective and supports understanding of the GLC concepts. These individuals must demonstrate knowledge of basic lubrication and oil sampling/analysis to support maintenance and reliability best practices across their organization including:

• General lubrication theories as well as related maintenance strategies
• Lubricants of various types, including the proper selection of lubricants highlighting considerations associated with base oils, the use of additives and their respective application to optimized lubrication
• Lubricant application technique best practices, as well as failure related risks/consequences
• Lubricant sampling and analysis including sampling program development, sampling execution, and various test results interpretation available to support effective lubricant condition-monitoring
• Contamination of lubricants – where and how lubricants can be contaminated and how lubricant contamination affects machines
• Means for controlling and reducing contamination levels and the profound impacts failure to act can have on machine reliability
• Proper storage and handling of lubricants to minimize environmental, health and safety risks in addition to limiting waste and expiry issues based on poor inventory management

Common job titles of individuals pursuing the GLC certification may include: President, Vice-president, General Manager, Manager, Supervisor, Buyer/Purchaser, Inventory Planner, Business Development Manager, Sales Manager, Sales Representative, Marketing Manager, Marketing Analyst, Financial Analyst, Accountant, Bookkeeper, Accounting Clerk, Warehouse Manager, Warehouseman, Logistics Analyst, Learning Support Specialists, etc.

The GLC Body of Knowledge is an outline of concepts that one should have in order to pass the certification examination. References from which exam questions were derived can be found in the Domain of Knowledge.

I. Lubrication Theory (24%)

a. Why machines need lubrication

i. What mechanical equipment need lubrication

ii. Lubrication regimes

1. Hydrodynamic, Elastohydrodynamic, Boundary, Mixed

iii. Understand principal functions of lubricants

1. Reduce friction, limit wear, dissipate heat, seal against ingress of contaminants, carry away debris, prevent rust and corrosion, transmit power

iv. Lubricant properties

1. Considerations in choosing lubricants

b. Maintenance Protocols

i. Condition-based monitoring

ii. Run-to-failure, proactive, Predictive, etc.

c. Lubricant Properties

i. Viscosity, pour point, flash point, etc.

d. Industry terms, definitions

II. Lubricants & Lubricant Selection (34%)

a. Viscosity

i. What viscosity means

1. Speed, load, and temperature considerations to viscosity

b. Lubricant Types

i. Oils – liquid lubricants

1. Base Oils

a. Mineral vs Synthetic

2. Additives and their functions

ii. Greases – semi-solid lubricants

1. Grease composition, properties, and applications

iii. Solid lubricants

c. Lubricant Selection

i. Oil v. Grease v. Solid

ii. Specific Lubricant Requirements

d. Health, Safety & Environmental considerations for lubricants

III. Lubricant Applications (6%)

a. Lubricant Dispensing and Application Methods

b. Relubrication and lubricant change out time interval determination

IV. Lubricant Sampling/Analysis (10%)

a. Oil Sampling

i. Sampling techniques, processes and tools

b. Oil Analysis

i. Lubricant testing

V. Lubricant Condition Monitoring (16%)

a. Basics of Contamination Control

i. Contamination risks and impacts to machinery

ii. Preventing/removing contamination

1. Ingression, filtration

b. Major Contaminants

i. Particles, water, air, chemicals, wear debris, etc.

1. Cross-contamination

VI. Lubricant Storage Best Practices (10%)

a. Lubricant storage

b. Lubricant transportation and handling

i. Tools and Techniques for Transportation

1. To facility and on facility floor/to machinery

2. Cross-contamination risk mitigation

c. Lubricant identification systems

Domain of Knowledge

• Bannister, K. (2007) Lubrication for Industry, Industrial Press, Inc., New York, USA.
• Bloch, H., Bannister, K. (2017) Practical Lubrication for Industrial Facilities, - 3rd Edition. The Fairmont Press, Lilburn, Georgia, USA.
• Landsdown, A. (1996) Lubrication and Lubricant Selection. Mechanical Engineering Publication, Ltd., London, England, UK.
• Scott, R., Fitch J., & Leugner, L. (2012) The Practical Handbook of Machinery Lubrication, Noria Publishing, Tulsa, OK USA
• NLGI, (2017) Lubricating Grease Guide, 6th ed., The National Lubricating Grease Institute, Kansas City, MO USA
• Ludema, K. (1996) Friction, Wear, Lubrication: A Textbook in Tribology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
• Pirro, D. M., & Wessol, A. A. (2016) Lubrication Fundamentals, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, USA
• The Lubrication Engineer's Manual, (2010) Association of Iron and Steel Engineers, Pittsburgh, PA USA
• Troyer, D., & J. Fitch (2010) Oil Analysis Basics. Noria Publishing, Tulsa, OK USA
• ASTM D4378, Standard Practice of In-Service Monitoring of Mineral Turbine Oils for Steam and Gas Turbines
• ASTM D6224, Standard Practice for In-Service Monitoring of Lubricating Oil for Auxiliary Power Plant Equipment
• Denis, J., J. Briant, & J. Hipeaux (2000) Lubricant Properties Analysis & Testing. Editions TECHNIP, Paris, France
• Toms, L.A., & Toms, A.M. (2008) Machinery Oil Analysis. Co-published by STLE, Park Ridge, Illinois, USA

ICML Certification is valid for three (3) years from the date of issue. Individuals certified in General Lubrication Concepts (GLC) must recertify this credential every three years.

The purpose for recertification is to ensure that certified individuals keep their skills current and up to date.

Recertification must be achieved by a points system. To recertify by points, individuals must accumulate 15 recertification points over the three-year period and submit a completed application to ICML. Points may be claimed using the following criteria:

Category	Points	Maximum	Documentation
Conference Attendance	1 point per conference day	6 points	Proof of attendance (certificate, badge or letter from conference organizer in its letterhead) and copy of program
Employment	4 points per year	12 points	Letter from employer, on company letterhead, with title of signer shown
Publication or Presentation	2 points per work	6 points	Copy of publication, table of contents of the book, proceedings, magazine or journal in which it was published. Proof of conference presentation
Training	1 point per day	10 points	Proof of attendance (certificate, badge or letter from conference organizer on its letterhead) and copy of program

Criteria of Acceptability

• Conference Attendance - Topics related to oil analysis, lubrication or other topics important to effective equipment maintenance and management.

• Employment - Employment must be in a role supporting industrial lubrication and/or oil analysis.

• Publication/Presentation - Publications (articles, journals, magazines, books, proceeding, etc.) and presentations about a topic within the body of knowledge for oil analysis, lubrication or equipment maintenance or management. May be a co-author. Presentation may be related to a functional discipline support capacity related to maintenance and reliability tasks.

• Training - Topics related to oil analysis, lubrication or other topics important to effective equipment maintenance and management.

All points must be earned during the time the certification is in effect. Points earned before or after the certification period will not be accepted. Points may be applied to multiple ICML certifications held by the individual, assuming that the points are applicable and approved for each individual recertification.

If a candidate’s only source of recertification points is employment, the extra points required may be earned via participation in employment-related “best practices” activities, as per below criteria:

• Documented participation on cross-functional teams related to lubrication program development and execution. May include business development, marketing, sales and administrative tasks.
• Development support of lubricant-related work management systems, purchasing or the like.
• Lubricant program auditing task (supply chain, financial, etc.) support.

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