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Under Pressure: How a pharmaceutical giant took the strain off hose management
Proactive hose care helps cut downtime, boost safety – and save £25,000.
If 15% of your motors were on the verge of failure, alarm bells would ring immediately. Pumps, gearboxes, drives? Engineers would be pulling all-nighters to prevent catastrophe. But at one major pharmaceutical site, 15% of the hoses were either leaking, overdue for replacement, or at risk of sudden failure – and no one knew.
In an industry governed by strict safety regulations, that kind of oversight isn’t just inconvenient – it’s potentially dangerous. Fortunately, ERIKS’ hose experts stepped in to change the picture completely, preventing future failures and implementing a smarter, more secure way of working.
A risk hiding in plain sight
The site in question is no ordinary manufacturing facility. As an ATEX and COMAH Tier 1-rated pharmaceutical plant, it operates under tight regulatory control due to the risk of explosion and the presence of hazardous substances. That means every component – from high-end equipment to humble hoses – has to be fit for purpose, fully traceable, and correctly maintained at all times.
Yet despite the presence of 825 hoses across the facility – ranging from PTFE-lined chemical hoses to general-purpose industrial ones – hose management wasn’t really on the radar.
Replacements were reactive rather than proactive, inspections irregular, and records limited to a basic spreadsheet. According to British Fluid Power Association (BFPA) guidelines, hoses should be replaced every five years, but in many cases, that interval had long been exceeded. The customer didn’t just need a survey – they needed a system.
Finding the faults, creating the fix
ERIKS’ hose specialists carried out a comprehensive visual inspection across the entire site. The results were eye-opening: 130 hoses – 15% of the total – were either leaking, overdue for replacement, or close to failure.
At a site dealing with volatile materials, the implications were clear: production stoppages, environmental hazards, health and safety breaches, or even catastrophic incidents.
But identifying the issue was only step one. To ensure long-term reliability and compliance, ERIKS implemented a full Hose Management System (HMS).
Every hose was tagged with a unique identifier – barcoded or QR-coded – and logged into a centralised digital database. The system now tracks each hose’s condition, age, replacement history, and even its conformity certificates and OEM drawings. More importantly, it automatically alerts staff when hoses are approaching their end-of-life, well before any risk becomes critical.
More than just monitoring
The benefits of the Hose Management System go far beyond better record-keeping. Each hose now has a digital fingerprint, and the customer has a live dashboard view of the entire hose infrastructure. Hoses are categorised as ‘Valid’, ‘Almost expired’, or ‘Failed’ – giving the maintenance team a clear picture of what needs attention and when.
ERIKS also supports the customer through monthly reviews, annual inspections, and consultation on new projects, helping the customer maintain the highest standards on new and refurbished assets alike.
By taking responsibility for hose tracking and maintenance, ERIKS frees up the customer’s internal engineering team to focus on other production-critical tasks – reducing reactive maintenance and unplanned downtime across the board.
The results speak for themselves
Since implementing the Hose Management System, the customer has seen an immediate return.
With failing hoses replaced and proactive monitoring in place, they’ve already saved £25,000, with further savings expected through reduced process interruptions and improved regulatory compliance.
Perhaps more importantly, the risk of failure – once a serious concern on such a sensitive site – has been drastically reduced. By ensuring timely inspections and replacements in line with BFPA standards, the site now operates with a significantly lower risk profile, fully aligned with HSE, ATEX, and COMAH requirements.
Small component, big impact
In complex industrial environments, it’s often the overlooked components that pose the greatest risk. Hoses may not have the same status as motors or pumps, but their failure can bring an entire production line – or even an entire site – to a halt.
With the right expertise, systems, and commitment to proactive maintenance, those hidden vulnerabilities can be turned into strengths.
ERIKS’ Hose Management System doesn’t just help companies keep the pressure on. It helps take the pressure off their assets, their compliance obligations, and their teams.
For more information on Hose solutions or to get in touch with one of our ERIKS Fluid Power Specialists please contact your local ERIKS Service Centre, who will be happy to discuss your options.
#ERIKS #LetsMakeIndustryWorkBetter #HoseManagement #Pharmaceutical #PTFE #ATEX #COMAH
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