How do hydraulics ensure safety in mining machinery? By their design, hydraulic components are explosion-proof, making the powerfully dense technology a natural choice in dangerous mining applications. Josh Cosford • Contributing Editor
Hydraulics in mobile mining machinery is unique. Just as any intelligently designed hydraulic circuit must consider efficiency, performance and reliability, so too must the hydraulics within the mining industry. However, the consideration for safety in mining is often the top priority, and therein lies the unique nature of hydraulics in this industry. Mining as a profession makes any top 10 list describing the most dangerous in the world. Some of the top dangers in mining are unrelated to machinery, such as dust, vibration and noise, but mining is a machinery dependent industry, and a great majority of those machines are hydraulically powered. So, what makes mobile hydraulics in mining machinery different from construction or forestry? Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in conducted their study, Machine-related injuries in the US mining industry and priorities for safety research1, and found machinery related accidents accounted for 41% of all severe accidents in mining operations, in regards to being struck by or caught in the machine.
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