The skilled and challenging engineering jobs that others hesitate to do are part of the growing success story at Hydraulink, which is keeping machinery in optimum condition for Australian light and heavy equipment sales and service specialist, Semco.
Semco specialises in light and heavy equipment, construction equipment, used equipment and other machinery such as backhoes, dozers, earthmovers, loaders, excavators, skid steers, compactors, graders, scrapers, tractors and crawler machines.
Mobile Hydraulink sales and service technician (HSST) Liam Armstrong began working with Semco since mid-2019 and has been back almost every day since, to work on hydraulic repairs or customisation requests.
“I was there most recently working on a 4t TB 138 excavator. I installed a quick hitch so that the operator can switch end attachments simply, safely and efficiently, without leaving the excavator cabin,” says Armstrong.
“The other major service was on an 8.5t TB 285 excavator, where I installed a tilting hitch. A tilting hitch has all the advantages of a quick hitch, but also allowed more side-to-side movement, which is useful when working on levelling an embankment, for example, where the excavator can’t drive on uneven ground,” he says.
Armstrong is part of a network of Hydraulink service technicians, who operate through more than 400 service points in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. HSSTs, and the broader Hydraulink network, strive to bring a “can-do” ethos to every job they attend.
Tonie Spaulding, Semco Sydney service manager says Hydraulink’s service is second to none. “Semco places a high priority on reliable service, and Hydraulink allows us to meet this consistently. Hydraulink’s professional work helps us meet our sales targets and ensure maximum machinery uptime.”
Armstrong adds that while he regularly performs routine work, Semco’s customers are often working in challenging and unusual conditions, so they regularly have requests for specific customisations to keep the machinery operating efficiently and safely.
Some further recent hydraulic installations Armstrong has performed on Semco equipment include:
• Case drain. With larger attachments, it’s common for a certain amount of internal oil to slowly drain out, so we installed a case drain that ensures that oil drains back into the tank and isn’t wasted.
• High flow. The first and second auxiliaries are connected, allowing a higher flow than when operating individually. A switch is set up so that the operator can choose to operate them separately or together.
Service optimises safety
Regular servicing of hydraulic components is vital to ensuring the safety of operators, workers and visitors who may be nearby to machinery and plant.
“Hydraulics are powerful, and provide fantastic benefits on site, but if one hose isn’t installed correctly, or has too much wear, it could break catastrophically and cause serious harm. Far better that all hydraulics are kept in good condition, and are replaced when they show early signs of wear, not when it’s too late,” says Armstrong.
“Whenever I perform a job, I check all the other hydraulics too. It’s something that comes right from the top at Hydraulink. It may take me a few more minutes, but if I find a fault, I’ve saved that customer significant downtime, cost and avoided any potential injury.”