Worksite Improvement Case Studies

Factory Equipment Hose Examples

Measures for energy savings and air leak in hoses needed

At a plant producing welding materials where a program had been implemented to decrease energy consumption, they had problems with air leaks at the connection of the PVC hose used for air and the barb fitting nipple. The installation work was spread out among several workers, so there was fluctuation in the torque used to fasten the clamps. They implemented a program to regularly tighten the clamps, but they continued to have trouble.

After 10 years of use, couplings frequently become disconnected and air leaks from the coupling

About 80 percent of the air hoses in the plant were made of PVC. After around 10 years of use, air leaks near the coupling and disconnections were occurring frequently, and they required immediate attention.

When hoses are replaced, the clamps are completely rusted and do not move.

A customer fastened a spring hose with a barb fitting and clamp for their plant equipment. About every five years, they had to replace the hoses, at which point, they found the clamps to be completely rusted on. Additionally, the barb fitting did not go into the spring hose easily and would sometimes break in the process.

When machining metal, cutting swarf hits the hose and easy to make it burst

Hot swarf that flies off during metal machining would often hit the air hose connected to the equipment, puncturing the hose. They had tried covering the hose with a silicone tube, but it did not work well and required a lot of time to deal with.