The Real Deal in Hydraulic Servicing

WITH HYDRAULICALLY ACTUATED FORESTRY MACHINERY COSTING typically from hundreds of thousands to more than two million dollars each, anyone who knows machinery understands the value of proper hydraulic servicing.

This fast-moving and demanding field of expertise, evolving ever faster in terms of machinery sophistication started with the child prodigy, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal.

Pascal (for whom kPA is named) gave us in his short life (1623–62) the law that states that a change of pressure in an incompressible fluid is transmitted equally throughout the fluid. He used it to invent the syringe and a handful of early predecessors of hydraulic presses.

He was joined down through the centuries by Yorkshire inventor and locksmith Joseph Bramah (1748-1814) whose lock-manufacturing shop was a cradle of the British machine-tool industry fervour and focus for hydraulic press production during the early years of the industrial revolution.

Fast forward to the future and in recent times the performance, sophistication and operating pressures of hydraulic equipment have increased significantly, as have their service needs to maintain precision, safety, efficiency and time on the job.

This is particularly true in the case of mobile hydraulic equipment, which can range from the most basic forklift to the most sophisticated dragline, with every truck, earthmover, harvester, bulldozer, log loader, mulcher, forwarder, skidder, and on or off-road working vehicle critically dependent on hydraulics. As a result, modern hydraulic equipment is not only more expensive to fix when it breaks down unexpectedly, but proactive maintenance is imperative to maximise service life and minimise operating costs.

“For safety, efficiency, uptime and maximum machinery life, it has never been more important than now to have experienced people working on your valuable equipment, says Robin Simpson, Chief Executive Officer at Hydraulink Fluid Connectors.

“You have to have deep knowledge and great experience in this area to be able to identify issues early. There are huge issues of safety, compliance, machinery knowledge, site knowledge, traceability and accountability involved in big machines. Why would you risk first-rate equipment with second-rate servicing?

“In the worst instances, it is like asking a backyard mechanic to tune a million-dollar machine. Because, at the end of the day, the quality of the job depends on the quality of the person and backing of the organisation you get to do it.

“We asked our people out in the field to honestly tell us what’s in it for them and their customers.” The typical priorities that emerged from a spectrum of industries, included:

1. Proven top standards of safety, OH&S, ISO 9001 accreditation and ability to confidently handle compliance and traceability of input requirements.

2. Familiarity with customer sites and diverse machinery being worked upon, so service technicians do not cost time, money and downtime learning the job at the customer’s expense. 3. Cost-efficient prices are always a top priority in a competitive

business. They need to be backed by proven integrity of practice. 4. Top standards of predictive maintenance, to help obviate unexpected downtime on sites often remote from skilled assistance.

5. A strong and growing mobile fleet complementing consistently high workshop standards, to give customers the option of on-site service.

6. Resources of a successful national network with a depth of

expertise and training.

7. A positive can-do attitude that provides the best solution and the

deepest long-term value, rather than quick fixes.

8. A robust and reliable supply chain (especially one proven during the recent COVID disruptions) backed by industry-best stocking and despatch performance.

9. Proven locally focussed and owner-operator business models

which deliver the best results where specialised skills are required. 10.Overall, cost-efficiently ensuring the best lifespan and minimised downtime for expensive machinery.

“We at Hydraulink invest a lot in developing attitude, skills and training, because these are the drivers of deep value. They are critical, whether you are a supplier to hire and customer fleets extending across key industries or an official supplier to the America’s Cup as we were – where a depth of hydraulic expertise was vital to the foil cant system involved in the Emirates Team New Zealand win, and enabling all yachts involved to touch speeds up to 50 knots,” Robin adds.

Hydraulink has a network of more than 400 service points throughout New Zealand, Australia, South Asia and Eastern USA.