The Unsung Hero of Industrial Reliability

When you hear the phrase “Lubrication Champion,” what comes to mind? For most, it sparks a smile, maybe even a chuckle. It sounds like a quirky title, something you’d expect in a comic book or a sports arena. But in the industrial world, this title carries weight—serious weight. Behind that playful name lies a role that can make or break the reliability of an entire facility. And for Steve Breeze, the journey to becoming Tolko’s Lubrication Champion was anything but ordinary. 

From Culinary Arts to Industrial Precision

Steve didn’t start his career in a mill or a maintenance shop. His story begins in a kitchen, where he earned his Red Seal certification and ran his own restaurant in Alberta. Later, he became head chef at a remote fishing lodge on the rugged northwest coast of British Columbia. Life was about flavors, plating, and the rhythm of service—not bearings, seals, and grease guns.

But in 2013, Steve traded his chef’s whites for steel-toed boots and stepped into a new world: the world of millwrights. He honed his new craft while working his way through copper mines, food facilities, and lumber mills. In 2023 he joined the plywood mill in Armstrong, BC. And in early 2024 he gained a new title—Lubrication Champion—which might sound lighthearted, but the responsibility was immense. His mission? To transform a reactive “pump and go” lubrication culture into a modern, data-driven reliability program grounded in science, precision, and accountability.

Why Lubrication Matters More Than You Think

Lubrication and reliability aren’t glamorous. They don’t grab headlines or make for flashy presentations. Yet, they’re the backbone of industrial performance. Bearings, gears, and motors—the lifeblood of any mill—depend on proper lubrication. Get it wrong, and you’re looking at catastrophic failures, costly downtime, and skyrocketing energy consumption.

Steve explains it best: “This isn’t a project. It’s a program—a living, breathing system that never ends. You spend money to save money. And you won’t see ROI next week just because you changed the grease. It takes time, effort, and investment.”

The High Stakes of Neglect

Consider this: Tolko’s Armstrong mill operates 24 circulation fans on top of a dryer. Each fan relies on pillow block bearings, nitrile seals, and high-temperature grease. For years, these bearings failed like clockwork—one per month—costing thousands in parts and labor. The downtime rippled through production schedules, creating headaches for everyone.

Steve’s solution was as simple as it was bold and innovative. He installed single-point Bluetooth auto-lubricators on each bearing and upgraded to solid-bodied bearings with metal shields. The results? Bearings ran 20°C cooler; motors drew less power, and failures vanished. Fourteen months later, those fans were still humming without a single issue.

This wasn’t just a win—it was proof that proper lubrication and reliability pay off. Cooler bearings mean less friction, less energy consumption, and longer equipment life. Multiplied across an entire facility, the savings are staggering.   

The Culture Challenge: Why Change Is Hard

If lubrication and reliability were only about technology, implementation would be easy. But the real challenge lies in culture. “People like the idea of change, but they do not like to change,” Steve says.

In many mills, maintenance practices are rooted in tradition. “We’ve always done it this way,” is a common refrain. Operators might insist on pumping 20 shots of grease into a bearing because that’s what they’ve always done. Convincing them to adopt new intervals, new greases, or new tools requires more than authority—it requires communication.

“You can’t just say, ‘Do it because I said so.’ You need to explain the why,” Steve emphasizes. Why switch grease? Why change route intervals? Why invest in desiccant breathers or condition-based filter changes? When crews understand the reasoning—and see the results—they buy in.

The Roadblocks and How to Overcome Them

Implementing a lubrication and reliability program is like running an obstacle course. Every hurdle—budget constraints, cultural resistance, technical complexity—feels daunting. Steve’s advice? Break it down.

“Think of hurdles as goals,” he says. “Prioritize them. Start with the low-hanging fruit—the easy wins that build momentum.”

Share those wins. When a bearing lasts 14 months instead of one, celebrate it. When energy consumption drops, tell the story. Visibility breeds confidence, and confidence fuels change.

The Myth of ‘If It’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It’

One of the biggest mental barriers Steve encounters is the old saying: “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” In reactive maintenance, that logic seems sound. But in reliability, it’s a trap.

Just because a bearing is spinning doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Over-greasing, under-greasing, and contamination can silently erode performance. Early signs—heat, vibration, excess energy draw—often go unnoticed until failure strikes. And when failure does occur, the costs aren’t just parts and labor. They include lost production, wasted energy, and cascading damage to other components.

Proactive maintenance flips the script. Instead of waiting for failure, it addresses root causes. It uses tools like ultrasound and temperature monitoring to detect issues early. It replaces filters based on condition, not arbitrary time intervals. It installs desiccant breathers to keep oil clean and dry. These individual steps may seem small, but their collective impact is a facility that runs smoother, longer, and cheaper. 

The Bigger Picture: Reliability as a Competitive Advantage

Lubrication and reliability aren’t just about avoiding breakdowns. They’re about building trust—in your machines, your processes, and your team. When assets perform predictably, production schedules stabilize. Energy costs drop. Safety improves. And morale soars because crews aren’t constantly firefighting.

For Tolko, the shift toward proactive maintenance is more than an operational upgrade—it’s a cultural transformation. It’s moving from “fix what’s broken” to “prevent what breaks.” And at the heart of that transformation is the Lubrication Champion.

What It Takes to Be a Lube Champion

So, what does it take to earn this title? Technical knowledge, yes—but also persistence, communication skills, and a strategic mindset. A Lube Champion audits work orders, installs auto-lubricators, reviews filtration systems, and ensures every recommendation turns into action. It’s not a part-time gig. It’s a full-time commitment to reliability.

Steve sums it up: “Don’t just fix the issue at hand. Find out why it happened and remove the root cause. Otherwise, you’ll keep going back to the same asset over and over.”

The Future of Lubrication and Reliability

As industries embrace digital tools—Bluetooth lubricators, IoT sensors, predictive analytics—the role of the Lubrication Champion will only grow. Data-driven insights will replace guesswork. Maintenance will become smarter, faster, and more sustainable. But technology alone won’t drive change. People will. Champions will.

And that’s the ultimate takeaway: behind every reliable machine is a human who cares enough to make it so. In Armstrong, BC, that human is Steve Breeze—a former chef turned industrial reliability leader. His journey proves that with vision, persistence, and a dash of creativity, even the most overlooked aspects of maintenance can become game-changers.