A National Lubrication Training Programme with MAINSTREAM Community's Asset Schools

Executive Summary

MAINSTREAM Community is a maintenance and reliability community for asset intensive industry, and its Asset Schools run practical courses for the people who maintain physical assets. In 2025, SAS-AM Managing Director Shane Scriven delivered a national programme of lubrication training through the Asset Schools' Lubrication School, powered by Lubrication Expert: more than ten in person sessions, public and private, for more than 150 participants.

Every session followed the International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML) bodies of knowledge for Machinery Lubrication Analyst and Technician Level I (MLA I and MLT I) and Machinery Lubrication Analyst Level II (MLA II), preparing participants to sit the ICML certification exams. The head of Asset Schools gave the programme a Net Promoter Score of 10.

The Challenge

Poor lubrication is a well known cause of machine failure, and one of the most preventable. The knowledge to fix it is well defined. The ICML bodies of knowledge set out what a lubrication analyst or technician needs to know, from lubricant selection and storage through contamination control to oil analysis.

The hard part is making that knowledge stick. The people in the room are engineers, planners, supervisors and tradespeople from very different operations, and they judge a course on one question: can I use this on my own equipment on Monday?

A national programme adds its own demands:

• Consistency. Every session, in every city, had to cover the same body of knowledge to the same standard.
• Two formats. Public sessions bring together people from many organisations. Private sessions run for a single host and its team.
• A mixed audience. Participants came from mining, manufacturing, utilities and transport, each with its own equipment and its own habits.

The Approach

• One standard, everywhere. The programme was built on the ICML MLA and MLT bodies of knowledge, so a participant in any session, public or private, covered the same ground and left ready to sit the same certification exams.
• Theory grounded in the field. Shane started out as a reliability engineer and vibration analyst, so the ICML theory was taught alongside real world examples and failure stories from his own reliability work. Each topic came with an example of what it looks like when it goes wrong on a real machine.
• In person, by design. Every session was delivered face to face, so participants could bring their own questions, compare practice across industries and work through problems together.

The Outcomes

• A national programme delivered. More than ten in person sessions across public and private formats.
• More than 150 people trained from mining, manufacturing, utilities and transport.
• Certification ready. Participants were prepared to sit the ICML MLA I, MLT I and MLA II certification exams.
• A Net Promoter Score of 10 from the head of Asset Schools.

"I have worked with Shane Scriven as a trainer and facilitator for the past 2 years, he is simply put a superstar in his Domain and a top bloke in to the bargain."
Steve Morris, Head of Asset Schools, MAINSTREAM Community

What We Learned

• Failure stories make theory stick. A real example of what poor lubrication does to a machine teaches more than a slide of theory.
• A recognised standard travels. Building on the ICML bodies of knowledge kept every session consistent, whatever the city or the audience.
• Mixed rooms are a strength. People from different industries solve the same lubrication problems in different ways, and they learn from each other.

Want Lubrication Training for Your Team?

SAS-AM delivers ICML aligned lubrication training and broader reliability training for asset intensive organisations, directly and through partners such as MAINSTREAM Community's Asset Schools and its Lubrication School, powered by Lubrication Expert. Contact us to talk through a public place or a private session for your team.

Project details: Cross industry · National in person training programme · ICML MLA I, MLT I and MLA II bodies of knowledge · Delivered with MAINSTREAM Community's Asset Schools, Lubrication School powered by Lubrication Expert, 2025.