The Situation
An aggregates quarry in Herefordshire was having issues with a leaking hydraulic RAM that was causing wastage, inefficiencies and required far too much maintenance resource. Production stoppages and operational downtime were occurring regularly as a result, and the costs associated with this were beginning to mount. Following these issues being reported to the team at the customer’s local HAYLEY DEXIS branch in Hereford, it was also discovered that the hydraulic oil used in this application had never been subjected to any sampling.
The Solution
The local HAYLEY DEXIS team contacted the experts at HAYLEY DEXIS | Fluid Power for assistance and advice on the best course of action to take in order to resolve the problems affecting the customers’ operation. The Fluid Care Response Vehicle was quickly deployed to site, kitted-out with the latest in oil sampling technologies thanks to HAYLEY DEXIS’ long-running partnership with Hydac, as well as the equipment needed for hose assembly and asset tagging. Once on site, the HAYLEY DEXIS engineer took a sample of hydraulic fluid directly from the system and was able to carry-out particle contamination analysis there and then.
Another sample was taken for further analysis back at HAYLEY DEXIS | Fluid Power HQ, for the optimal filtration solution to be identified. Thirty hydraulic hose assemblies in operation at the quarry were also identified and tagged appropriately during the site visit.
"OIL CONTAMINATION WAS IDENTIFIED, WITH STEPS UNDERWAY TO PREVENT IT HAPPENING AGAIN."
The Result
The oil analysis conducted on site demonstrated that the oil had become contaminated with solid particulates, negatively affecting the operation of the system. The HAYLEY DEXIS | Fluid Power team are currently busy completing further tests as part of the laboratory services offering that they are able to provide under their “Fluid Care Partnership” with Hydac.
Once these results are analysed and the customer is in agreement, a comprehensive filtration package tailored to the requirements of the application will be implemented. New hydraulic fluid will also be provided, again better suited to the applications’ requirements. Once in-place, the solution will help the quarry to dramatically reduce downtime, improve the operational efficiency of the system, and resolve the persistent issues with the leaky RAM.
Thanks to the hose assemblies on site now being identified, registered as part of a live inventory, and tagged, engineers will be able to promptly tend to the maintenance of these assets and order replacement hoses when needed. HAYLEY DEXIS Hereford will now provide replacements and spares.