An NFC-enabled hydraulic hose management system typically applied to hard-working industrial, mining, and primary industry machinery has comprehensively proved its worth in use in one of New Zealand’s most spectacular tourist attractions.

The Hydraulink Hydratag Near Field Communication (NFC) tagging system has just completed its first six-year tour of duty in service with Rotorua’s Skyline Adventures, simplifying high standards of regular maintenance and enabling predictive troubleshooting to contribute to the top mechanical and safety standards of Skyline Adventures’ gondola operations, which, along with their descending luge, attract hundreds and thousands of users a year.

The HydraTag project was undertaken in partnership with Hydraulink distributor Total Hydraulic Solutions, based in Rotorua, which enjoys a long-term relationship with Skyline Adventures and undertook the work required. The Hydraulink HydraTag technology involved has been an essential management system tool for Hydraulink industrial and resource applications for the past 10 years. Many users in NZ, Australia and Indonesia use it to manage hydraulic hoses throughout their fleets and critical equipment..

The 900-metre long Dopplemayr cableway system in Rotorua ascends 487m up Mt Ngongotaha with more than 180 hydraulic hose assemblies delivering power and control to the systems lifting the eight-seater gondolas to their destination and dining attractions, from where customers can choose to descend by Skyline Adventures’ exhilarating 1.7km luge, one of the longest in the world.

The NFC tagging system provides computerised information that saves time by enabling maintenance staff to know exactly what the construction is of an individual hose assembly, regardless of how complex a system it is part of.

“To save further maintenance time and optimise uptime, replacement assemblies can be manufactured swiftly and accurately to replicate hoses being replaced.

“Not only does this simplify the initial plumbing-up of hydraulic systems and plant audits, but the NFC system also adds value by troubleshooting with its ability to analyse repeatedly failing hoses. Operations staff can use this information to help determine whether the hose is the correct type for the particular pressure point, or whether there are installation or plumbing issues.

“This is a timesaving, safety, and maintenance benefit,” says Hydraulink’s Tokoroa-based Area Sales Manager Geoff Gurr.

Working night shifts so Skyline’s daytime operations continued uninterrupted, Hydraulink staff progressively replaced all the plastic NFC tags originally installed six years ago. The tags are routinely replaced after six years, to deliver their next six-year phase of service.

“It is a great system for any industry dependent on efficient functioning and maintenance of hydraulics, which covers just about all mobile and static machinery employed by a huge range of industries, including fleet hire, civil engineering, construction, forestry, forklifts, warehousing and logistics, manufacturing, mining, and many forms of agriculture and primary production, where operational sites can be remote and uptime is essential, says Geoff.

The system provides a unique login for larger users of tags, as well as national customers, who can then remotely view all their machinery’s hose assemblies, filtered by plant ID.

“For system users such as Skyline Adventures – and for other typical users – this system puts information at their fingertips that is important to avoid time wastage, anticipate issues arising and act predictively to optimise operations.

“It is a robust and simple system, but brilliant for that reason because its simplicity makes it so accessible to all operations staff concerned with the smooth running of maintenance and safety of an operation,” says Geoff.