IN FOCUS
How untangling hoses saved
£26,000
In the same way, a hydraulic hose burst is always an injury risk, due to the pressure the fluid is under. But when the hose lacks burst protection, and is next to a dedicated walkway, then the risk becomes an accident waiting to happen. An exercise which began with a visual skim survey continued with a 14-day in-depth inspection of 364 hoses. And it revealed many more issues that were wasting the customer’s money and reducing their operational efficiency on a daily basis.
Serious money down the drain A site for sore feet Site surveys can be challenging and timeconsuming at the best of times. During a global pandemic is not the best of times. Adding to the difficulties was the location of the customer’s site. Like many Scotch Malt whisky distilleries, it’s remote. When overnight accommodation is hard to find because of a pandemic, it seems more remote than ever. Even on site, things didn’t get much easier. The site map provided was old, and the site had been updated and changed over a number of years. An in-depth knowledge of the number of hoses in use, or their locations wasn’t mapped to its fullest. The site covers 1½ by 2½ miles, and contains nearly 50 large warehouses, and had to be inspected entirely on foot. However, Colin MacMillan – the Technical Specialist from ERIKS Flow Control – couldn’t just wander at will.
Colin MacMillan Technical Specialist, Industrial Hose
Hoses can tie-up money. Leak cash. Spray budgets up the wall. And their associated health and safety considerations can easily trip people up. That’s why a concerned engineering manager called in ERIKS to take a close look at the hose assets of a major Scottish Malt Whisky distillery. A leak of any fluid from a worn or damaged hose is a problem. When what’s leaking is Malt whisky, at 2-3 litres per minute, it’s not just a problem but serious money down the drain.
Issue 42
With the warehouses containing large VAT’s of premium quality whisky, security was tight and access not always easy. Even pointing out he wasn’t a risk because he preferred vodka to whisky didn’t help to open any doors for Colin.
