There are plenty of hydraulic systems operating in the UK without any hydraulic schematics, bills of materials or manuals. As long as it keeps working that is okay?
Firstly hydraulic systems come under the PUWER regulations, which will require the system to be risk assessed and any significant risks mitigated. Clearly the systems that have no supporting information are unlikely to be maintained so this is clear risk; as tasks such as hose inspection and pressure relief valve checks would not have been done. A good guide to hydraulic system safety is ISO 4413:2010 and surveying legacy systems for compliance with these requirements will show gaps and from that tasks that need to be created and completed.
A hydraulic schematic is a must for every hydraulic system as it details the components and their connection to each other. If you understand hydraulic schematics you should be able to understand how the system works and what can cause an unsafe condition. Not having a schematic, you will have no idea.
For a Legacy Hydraulic System you will need:
- Survey to determine the gaps, using ISO 4413:2010 as a baseline.
- Task list and plan to implement the task. One of the first is to draw a hydraulic schematic.
- Risk assess the hydraulic system and create mitigation actions.
- Implement the mitigation actions.
- Set up a maintenance process and schedule.
Then you can operate your hydraulic system reliably, efficiently and safely.
