What are the main causes of safety issues in hydraulic systems?

In daily operations, hydraulic systems occasionally experience safety incidents—ranging from minor injuries to operators to life‑threatening situations, and even leading to severe accidents in the workplace. Yet, safety concerns in hydraulic systems are often overlooked; even seasoned professionals with many years of experience in the industry can still be responsible for such accidents.

From a technical standpoint, the primary causes of safety issues in hydraulic systems include system overpressure, fluid ignition, high‑speed moving parts ejecting solid debris, electrical short circuits and leakage, and hydraulic valve sticking. However, at a deeper level, these problems ultimately stem from human factors. From the initial concept development and economic analysis through system design, component selection, procurement of off‑the‑shelf components, manufacturing, assembly, and commissioning, to the final stage of putting the system into regular operation, virtually every step can directly or indirectly affect its safety. In particular, during the conceptual phase, one of the key criteria for selecting a design is the system’s reliability requirements: lower reliability generally translates into lower safety. Different types of components also exhibit varying levels of safety—for example, direct‑acting relief valves are inherently safer than pilot‑operated ones. The procurement of finished components is equally critical; product quality can vary significantly among manufacturers, which in turn impacts safety. As for economic considerations, higher investment typically correlates with improved system safety.

The competence of management and technical personnel—encompassing their subjective attributes, level of knowledge, and depth of experience—exerts a profound influence on system security, manifesting across all technical stages and becoming especially evident during commissioning and operational phases.