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Nearly all industrial workshops use high-pressure hydraulic tools for their maintenance (that is to say whose
pressure lies between 700 and 1,500 bar, that is to say between 700 kg and 1.5 tonnes per cm²). This type of
product includes a range of different equipment: cylinders, pumps, spanner wrenches for large-diameter nuts,
nut-splitters, cable cutters, spacers, etc. In short, tools designed for specific tasks which the human hand
cannot do by itself.
Unlike other equipment such as forklift trucks, for example, there are no qualifications, periodical checks,
specific accident statistics, or regulatory framework for safely handling these type of machines. Faced with a
lack of information or regulatory framework, companies sometimes neglect to take hydraulic risks into account,
particularly with respect to their unique users' manual. These risks can, however, result in serious
consequences which can involve the liability of not only the head of the company but also that of the team
leader.
The unique users' manual aims to answer the various issues encountered concerning professional risk
assessment. According to clause L. 4121-1, "the general safety requirement incumbent on the employer must
lead them to take all necessary measures to ensure and protect workers' healthy and safety". The unique users'
manual is designed to enable an employer to take stock of data and results in order to identify clearly the
various dangers to which workers are exposed, to conduct a concrete risk analysis but also to find proposals
and solutions to inhibit these risks, and to make all this information accessible to everyone. In other words,
every company should be up to date with the content and thoroughness of its unique users' manual; if not, the
employer may be held liable in the case of an accident whose true risk had not been appropriately assessed.
An international manufacturer of tools and hydraulic systems, SPX Hydraulic Technologies has recorded these
type of misuse and imprudent actions at more than 90% of user companies. The risks involved with high-
pressure hydraulic machines are all too real, however, and may lead to serious injuries (amputations, for
example) and to fatalities. The consequences of these accidents are diverse (crushing, small parts being
projected, oil ejection, etc.) and the causes are generally linked to the state of the equipment, improper usage,
or the work context, etc. The most alarming thing that SPX HT observed is undeniably the following: lack of
information and preventive measures relating to the real risks involved with hydraulic equipment accidents
Press contact: Julien Mahieu – TARA – jm@tara-communication.com – +33 (0)1.49.30.10.70
is the cause of numerous accidents. Hydraulic systems are all too often seen as reliable and robust sub-units
requiring very little upkeep and maintenance. Yet many tools have become obsolete, or are just worn out.
Maintenance is only ever carried out to prevent any risk of malfunction, rather than for crucial safety reasons.
For example, the danger with a pressurised oil leak is never clearly appreciated, even though ejected oil is
capable of penetrating any protective clothing and immediately results in tissue infection. Such accidents are
numerous and always result in emergency services being involved, yet they cannot prevent subsequent
problems. In the same way, wearing out and poor upkeep can result in a hydraulic system ejecting metallic
parts, which immediately become extremely dangerous projectiles. The three main causes of accidents
resulting from hydraulic risks are the following: the user not knowing the tool, lack of information about the
real dangers of hydraulic equipment, and the lack of adequate maintenance. In these three cases, many
serious accidents could have been avoided by training and prevention.
It is consequently in order to avoid these kinds of failures that SPX HT decided to design risk awareness
modules targetting companies in the industrial sector. According to the programme, a training session lasts
between two hours and a full day. After a fact-finding visit, SPX HT designs a plan of action, and determines the
main areas to be tackled in accordance with the problems it has observed and the people who need training.
- Seiso (cleaning) SPX also gives out a great deal of advice about storing and
maintaining different tools with methods inspired by the
- Seiketsu (standardising) Japanese 5S method, which is where the operation name of
5S+1 comes from (the +1 refers to safety). Safety posters and
- Shitsuke (being meticulous) a storage system are also proposed for high-pressure hoses
together with a visual check-list, as well as small safety cards
which operators can keep in their pockets to always have
information at hand.
Christophe Bouvet,
www.spxhydraulictech.com