Hydraulic hose failure caused collapse of heavy haulage trailer

• The hydraulic hose that failed was located behind the wheel arch running along the chassis of the trailer; it was quite inaccessible for regular cleaning, inspection and maintenance.
• The location of the hose was considered a ‘dirt trap’ which is considered likely to have led to its deterioration and subsequent failure.
• The critical nature of this hose was not understood, and it was not recognised that failure could cause the trailer to list.
• As a consequence of the above, no hose inspection or change out frequency had been specified.
• The potential for failure of the suspension to cause the load to list was not considered at the risk assessment.

The incident highlights the need for suppliers and operators of specialist equipment to determine fully the potential critical failures of equipment and take preventative measures accordingly. Such failures should also be considered as part of risk assessments and, where appropriate, additional controls and required recovery measures agreed prior to the operation.

• Check planned inspection and maintenance systems of equipment – are critical items considered.
• Risk assessments – are potential failures and effects considered and assessed.
• Consider pre-use checks of similar trailers – can a test to working pressure be conducted prior to loading.

After much searching using various key words, it can be established that whilst there are a number of incidents involving hydraulic hose failure, and any number of incidents in which the amongst the causes identified were failure to identify risks, this incident combining the two is without precedent in the IMCA Safety Flash system.