The critical shortage of competent hydraulic diagnostic technicians is costing companies tens of millions of dollars annually.
After one company alone lost ten hydraulic pumps worth $400,000.00 in a single day because their mechanics lacked basic troubleshooting skills, you would think the business owner would be pounding on the doors of government demanding that America's technical colleges (most) start paying attention to the "quality" of the "goods" they produce.
Most technical colleges offer hydraulic training yet over 99% of graduates cannot troubleshoot hydraulic systems.
How the $400,000.00 bloodbath occurred:
The company's mechanics replaced a gear box that housed five hydraulic pumps. Unbeknownst to the mechanic the gear ratio was incorrect. When they started the machine excessive speed caused at least one or two of the pumps to suffer catastrophic failures. The cost - $200,000.00. The mechanics replaced all five pumps, started the machine and the new pumps suffered the same fate as the original pumps, which cost the company another $200,000.00.
A competent hydraulic technician would have been able to avert both of these failures with nothing more than a $20.00 vacuum gauge. Although a vacuum gauge is a critical instrument for diagnosing inlet problem on hydraulic pumps less than 1% of mechanics own and or know how to use one.
This photo is for reference purposes only. It is not a photo of the gearbox describes in this incident.
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3dC