Busy ports cannot afford to have their heavy-lift ship loading cranes out of commission for any duration when they know that large urgent jobs can come their way at any time.
But these mechanical behemoths must also be rigorously maintained in peak safety and operational condition at all times, so as to both optimise worker protection, while optimising throughput of widely varying loads.
These can vary from standard containers and general freight through to specialised machinery required for engineering, construction and resources projects.
This was the situation facing Port Taranaki earlier this year when it called on the services of Hydraulink network distributor Hydraulic Solutions Taranaki to ensure peak operating and safety condition of its rubber-tyred mobile 200-ton Liebherr LHM400 twin-jib style crane. The veteran heavy lifter was in continual demand for standard and container cargoes, as well as highly specific load, ranging from logs and primary products through to offshore oil and gas infrastructure from the region's rich sub-sea hydrocarbon fields.
"The complexity of this job was that there were dozens of hydraulic hoses to inspect and replace – a total of 76 hoses, some of which located in the dark entrails of the machine – in addition there was significant time pressure, with the maintenance having to be finished, and crane commissioned within a week," said Duncan MacIver, Managing Director, Hydraulic Solutions Taranaki.
"Not only that, but we couldn't just go in and do all the hose inspections and replacements at once, because the crane might be called into service at any time. So we had to do the job in bite-sized pieces, five or six sets of hoses at a time, so the heavy lifter could be brought back into service quickly to meet demand.
"Port Taranaki is the only deep water port on New Zealand's West Coast, and it is very conscious of its importance to import and export markets and to providing a safe environment at all times," said Duncan, who has decades of experience with cranes and fixed and mobile plant spanning sectors such as civil engineering, construction, infrastructure, resources, transport, and public utility engineering.
To provide optimum speed and operational flexibility on this job, while working within fixed budgetary and time constraints, Hydraulic Solutions Taranaki was able to assign a team of three to work alongside each other on different phases of the work required.
"At the same time as one was inspecting and removing hoses, another was replacing and installing equipment and another inspecting and ensuring it was a perfect job. Being able to put the right manpower on the job was a huge asset," said Duncan.
"Drawing on the wide range of Hydraulink world class hose and fitting product, and their specifying and installation experience, they could get the right gear to the job at the right time and ensure that all operational and compliance targets and Standards were met.
"It was like a task force coming together – we had the skilled manpower, they had the product, and the flexibility this combination gave us enabled us to work with a client who needed to frequently adapt the scope of works and budgets to their changing requirements.
"When the time came to do the job, the hoses were on site on the Monday, the three-man crew progressively advanced through the work until we were finished ahead of time on Thursday, and set to do the commissioning ahead of time, being completed on the Friday morning."
Client satisfaction
"The client was impressed with the quality and efficiency of the work completed – ship loading cranes are one of the very biggest and most critical big hydraulic hose and fitting assignments. Not only is the scale of the job very broad, but also you have to have access to a wide range of hose types when you are working with unique and vital equipment for which correct hosing and specs are critical to safety and performance."
Hydraulink New Zealand Sales Manager Rob Naughton says Duncan and his team deserved the client accolades for smoothly delivering a complex task well within time and budget.
"Duncan and his team are very good operators, who know the value of uptime to clients, who need to have their expensive and critical machinery continuously ready to safely undertake a wide range of tasks required of it, all to world-class standards of compliance and traceability."
Hydraulink – which operates under the corporate signature "Best Under Pressure' has a network of more than 400 service points throughout New Zealand, Australia and South Asia. It has a large and expanding fleet of mobile service vehicles to perform time-saving, world-class work on client sites, to the same high standards as that performed in its wide range of engineering workshops in strategic locations.
About us:
Hydraulink is a leading manufacturer and supplier of hose and fittings, with over 400 service points throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific Region. We operate a 24/7 mobile service, allowing you to rely on us whenever you need assistance - anytime, day or night. We are committed to getting your business back on track with minimal downtime.
