Loading bay maintenance

Another relevant safety point within dock leveller maintenance is the timely replacement of hydraulic hoses, which should always be replaced after 6 years. The period does not refer to the service life, but is calculated from the date of manufacture - noted directly on the hydraulic hose by means of a date stamp. As oil is fed through the hoses at high pressure each time they are used, increased wear can occur even before the 6 years have elapsed, due to natural material fatigue or weather-related ageing.

This wear and tear can result in surface cracks, leaks or a complete rupture of the hydraulic hose. Since these ruptures can lead to the escape of oil, it is not only the loading equipment itself that can be affected, and can also lead to environmental pollution by the contamination of groundwater. Timely or early replacement of hydraulic hoses is therefore in the interest of your company, as part of the preventive maintenance of loading systems.

Another key part of preventive maintenance for hydraulic dock levellers is the regular inspection of moving parts. Within these parts, hydraulic oil is pumped under high pressure from the hydraulic unit through the special hydraulic hoses to the cylinders. In order to guarantee safety throughout this process - both for the technology and your employees - every individual part of the hydraulic system must function perfectly.

Connecting elements such as valves can easily become clogged or eroded, for example if hydraulic oil becomes contaminated after a certain period of operation. Therefore, hydraulic oil should be replaced after 3 years at the very latest, or earlier if necessary – to reduce the risk of ‘silting up’. The 15 reason for silting is when hydraulic oil is contaminated by air (and water molecules), which causes corrosion on the steel parts inside due to water content. The resulting rust causes increased wear on moving parts and can lead to the complete failure of the dock leveller.