Keeping safe when installing, inspecting and replacing hydraulic hoses

25 October, 2016

Replacement

As there are risks involving old or worn hydraulic hoses, there are also risks involved in hose replacement. A large industry has been built up in providing on-site hose replacement, and this type of service can naturally be very convenient way of upgrading your equipment. However, before anybody is given the authority to build or undertake work on a hydraulic system it is important to ensure the person or persons involved are suitably trained to carry out their designated tasks. They may be properly trained to install or replace hydraulic hoses, but do they have the right knowledge and skills to be given wider access to the hydraulic system, and do they fully understand what that system does? Also, have they been provided with all the necessary information to carry out their tasks, such as a system circuit diagram.

Pressure testing guidance

Some companies buy pre-made up hose assemblies. If considering this option, always insist that these hose assemblies have been pre-pressure tested with an accompanying certificate to prove this has been undertaken and to show the testing conforms to the relevant standards.

In 2012 the BFPA undertook some work in conjunction with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) on the pressure testing of hydraulic hoses and hydraulic hoses as part of a system. The result was the HSE’s document GS4; a major update of fundamental, cross-industry safety guidance on pressure testing aimed at all employers, supervisors and managers. The guidance lays down procedures that should be adhered to when undertaking pressure tests.

For example, when looking at the pressure rating of a hose assembly the pressure rating should be set at the minimum level of any component within that assembly; this includes hose adapters. Too often companies buy unrated hose adapters from a cheap source and forget that they have to rate that adapter within the system. The hose assembly including the hose fitting might be rated at 350 bar but the adapter might be rated at only 250 bar. Therefore, that assembly should only be rated at 250 bar.

Machinery Directive compliance

With regard to the Machinery Directive, if you have built a system but haven’t complied with this legislation then you are potentially opening yourself up to prosecution. Any competent engineer should be aware of the standards that need to be met in building a system, and if you are using a supplier of hydraulic equipment to build that system for you then this supplier in turn should also aware of its legal requirements.

Training

Currently there isn’t an accepted qualification of competence with regard to the inspection, maintenance or replacement of hydraulic hoses. However, the BFPA always champions best practice and has established a number of programmes aimed at raising the awareness of people who work with hydraulic hose at all levels; from the system designer and field engineer, to the machine operator and the person who makes the hose. The BFPA runs the ‘Foundation Course in Working Safely with Hydraulic Hose and Connectors’; and a practical, workshop-based course titled ‘The BFPA Hose Assembly Skills Training Programme’, which takes the basic Foundation level of knowledge and trains attendees to a fully assessed level of ability in hose assembly techniques; and a ‘Hose Integrity, Inspection and Management’ course. A number of reputable hose equipment and service providers are licensed to carry out these courses throughout the UK and Ireland. The BFPA has recently produced minimum educational recommendations for hydraulics (pneumatics will follow), which cover a basic understanding of a system together with health & safety guidance. Please contact BFPA for a copy of these recommendations.