The Situation
A luxury car manufacturer had expressed an interest in assembling their own hydraulic hoses on-site during a catch-up call with their local Hayley branch in Sheffield. It was quickly arranged for a member of the specialist Fluid Power team to visit the facility and suggest an appropriate solution. Currently, the customer was ordering all new hose assets directly from the OEM in Germany, paying a premium for this while having to deal with extended delivery times.
The Solution
Consulting with the customer’s engineering and maintenance teams, a popular hose crimper machine by Gates® was identified as the suitable choice. Alongside the crimper, which would take centre stage in the customer’s new self-assembly hose cell, a die set and cutter was also added to the package. Hoses and couplings would be stocked at Hayley Sheffield, to ensure the cell could be restocked quickly when needed.
In addition, a full hose survey was carried out, with all operational hoses tagged and registered in a database. British Fluid Power Association (BFPA)-approved hydraulic hose training was also included in this particular package, and was delivered to staff on-site by a Hayley Fluid Power expert.
The Result
The hose crimper and fully-stocked cell built within the customer’s manufacturing facility has enabled the team to assemble their own quality hose assemblies. This has saved a significant amount of time and expense, whilst also encouraging the replacement of hoses, prior to leaks and bursts occurring. The newly-created hose register allows engineers on-site to quickly and easily identify assets, making planned maintenance activity possible.
In the event of new hoses being required to re-stock the cell, same-day delivery is now available via the local branch, helping to keep downtime to a minimum.
The training course provided as part of the package has upskilled engineers and they are now confident in their own ability to create trouble-free hose assemblies for applications across the site.