Caterpillar adopts DIY answer to hydraulic hose failure

London - Caterpillar has achieved first-year savings of £144,000 through the reduction of downtime due to hydraulic hose failures at its articulated truck manufacturing plant in Peterlee. The gains followed a move to produce replacement hoses on site so that the parts are available within minutes of the need arising and cost much less than relying on van-based mobile hose replacement services.

Hydraulic hose failure on the machines that manufacture the tracks for Caterpillar vehicles was previously by far the largest cause of downtime at the plant.  To tackle the situation, industrial products and services company WYKO supplied a crimping machine along with a structured stock of hose and couplings to enable Caterpillar's own maintenance team to quickly produce almost any type of hose assembly on site.

The crimping machine, the hose and the couplings were chosen from the range offered by Gates Hydraulics, for whom WYKO is a distributor. The machine was installed by WYKO, which is also responsible for the formulation of the stock profile and management of the stock.

Gates Hydraulics provided Caterpillar staff with training in the production of hose assemblies - a vital part of the package as the assemblies work at very high pressures, and the correct procedures must be used during their production to ensure that they will operate safely under these conditions.