Hydraulic hose lines are used when energy needs to be transmitted and it is not technically possible to install pipes. In the case of dock levellers the system pressure must be transferred from the hydraulic unit to the hydraulic cylinder so that the dock leveller can move. This is done via the hydraulic hoses, which connect the hydraulic unit and cylinder with each other and transfer the entire system pressure from the hydraulic unit to the hydraulic cylinder. Hence the hydraulic hose lines enable the dock leveller to move.
The hydraulic hoses are exposed to permanent stress due to the operation of the dock leveller. This can lead to aging, damage, corrosion or wear. Damaged hose lines cannot transfer all of the pressure, which often leads to problems with the dock leveller. This can lead, for example, to the dock leveller moving downwards in an uncontrolled manner during loading. If a forklift truck is on the dock leveller at this precise moment, considerable personal injury and / or property damage can occur. In addition, hydraulic oil can escape through damaged hydraulic hoses. On the one hand, this is very dangerous because the oil is extremely flammable; on the other hand, leaking oil leads to serious environmental damage, such as the pollution of groundwater. It is therefore essential to have hydraulic hose lines checked and replaced regularly. Next week we'll go into more detail on how to identify damaged hose assemblies and how regularly they should be replaced.
