well-oiled machine

The figurative sense is an extension from the literal sense.

• "run like a well-oiled machine"
• "Our office runs like a well-oiled machine."
• "Our office is a well-oiled machine."
• "Trevor was the firm's facilities manager and it was his job to make sure that their office ran like a well-oiled machine and that the partners, attorneys, and staff were comfortable."
• "A movie studio in the so-called golden era was a well-oiled machine with everything needed to make movies right in place on the studio lot."
• "Contrary to this dismal picture is the popular concept of the classroom that runs like a well-oiled machine, smoothly, flawlessly, functioning at full capacity, producing maximum output."
• "The writer is never enthusiastic and rarely Imaginative. His lines flow with the smoothness of a well-oiled machine."