An X-CODE for every situation

With his own construction company, our imaginary customer Max has turned his childhood dream into his profession. The X-CODE has actively accompanied the company's growth from the very beginning. By looking at a typical week, Max shows how it’s not only the construction industry that benefits from the X-CODE. 

Max specialises in civil engineering and demolition work. His vehicle fleet includes excavators, wheel loaders, dumpers and compaction rollers, as well as a wide range of smaller construction machines. As different as the construction machines are, they all have one thing in common: the yellow labels with the X-CODE attached to each hose line. “The X-CODE is like a fingerprint. HANSA‑FLEX uses this six-digit alphanumeric code to record the exact specification of each newly manufactured hose line in a database,” explains Max. If a spare part is needed, all you have to do is send the X-CODE to HANSA‑FLEX. The staff at the branch can then immediately see which fittings and which hose material were used and when the hose line was produced.

The day begins with an emergency. One of Max's employees contacts him from a construction site in Brandenburg. A hose line has been damaged during demolition work on a bridge. Since the construction site is not far from the Polish border, the nearest HANSA‑FLEX branch is in fact not in Germany, but in Poland. The employee is concerned about language problems, but Max tells him not to worry: after all, the X-CODE system applies worldwide. And indeed, the excavator driver simply makes a note of the X-CODE and takes it to the HANSA‑FLEX branch in the Polish city of Szczecin. A few minutes later, the new hose line is ready. Max takes care of the administrative work in the background, and the demolition work can continue without any significant delay.

Safety is Max's top priority. The DGUV recommends an annual visual inspection of all hydraulic hose lines. For a long time, Max used an Excel spreadsheet for this task, which became more and more complex and ultimately confusing over the years. “When our HANSA‑FLEX account manager introduced me to the new X-CODE Manager in the My.HANSA‑FLEX customer portal, I was immediately enthusiastic. The portal allows us to manage all the hose lines on our construction machines, sort them according to various criteria and easily assign them to the various construction machines,” reports Max. Today, Max conveniently performs visual inspections using a tablet with the customer portal's inspection module, with each hose line clearly identified by the X-CODE. Accordingly, the digital test records for each construction machine are stored in a central location.

Today, no fewer than three excavators have to be completely refitted with hoses. Although Max and many of his employees have acquired hydraulic knowledge through courses at the International Hydraulics Academy (IHA), when it comes to changing all the hydraulic hose lines on an excavator, Max is happy to call on the HANSA‑FLEX Industrial Service. Since the X-CODE of all hydraulic hose lines is stored in the My.HANSA‑FLEX online portal, preparations run smoothly. Today, HANSA‑FLEX technicians have well over a hundred preconfigured hydraulic hose lines on board their service vehicles and can get started immediately, minimising downtime. The installation of the new hose lines is then documented in a legally secure manner in the online portal.

Max opened up a new area of business some time ago by renting mini-excavators to private customers. With customers who are not used to working with construction machinery, minor incidents can’t always be ruled out. “We once had a customer who wanted to buy a replacement hose one metre long from a DIY store when there was a breakdown. That’s obviously out of the question. Thanks to the X-CODE we consistently avoid misunderstandings on the phone and can help quickly,” reports Max. Either a replacement part is in stock or the nearest HANSA‑FLEX branch can help. And if things have to move especially fast, Max calls the Rapid Hydraulic Service. After all, when it comes to gardening projects, nothing should stand in the way of success.

Saturday is a typical office day for Max. Planning the maintenance work on the construction machinery in advance plays an important role. Here too, the My.HANSA‑FLEX online portal provides valuable support. Max can see the maintenance intervals and inspection dates for every construction machine at a glance, and can optimise the planning so that the DGUV deadlines are met and not too many construction machines are unavailable for customer orders at the same time: “The portal enables me to sort the construction machines by location or machine type, and to order replacement hose lines online with just a few clicks of the mouse.” 

Even though many of Max's construction machines are in operation around the clock on major building sites, Sunday belongs to the family. Without exception. And for emergencies, at the weekend Max can rely on the Rapid Hydraulic Service from HANSA‑FLEX, which is available 24/7. “My employees call the hotline, give their location and the X-CODE of the defective hydraulic hose line. Job done! The colleagues from HANSA‑FLEX take care of everything else,” comments Max.