Boilers: The heat is on training

Guidelines within BG01 (Guidance on the Safe Operation of Boilers) are continuing to drive demand for training of boiler engineers, operators, technicians, as senior managers and owners seek to fully meet their responsibilities to ensure the safe running of these systems.

Compiled by the Combustion Engineering Association (CEA), the Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed) and the HSE, the BG01 spells out the safety requirements around steam and hot water boilers in much greater detail than previous guidance.

This includes advice on how to achieve the safety standards laid out in the HSE’s Safe management of industrial steam and hot water boilers (INDG436) document. Topics range from specific advice on control options to the type of training required for workers to be able to perform their jobs safely and competently.

Published in late 2011, BG01 requires everyone working on boilers to have sufficient expertise to carry out duties, such as operation and maintenance properly at each specific site.  Boiler operators and technicians must also be able to recognise the limits of their own expertise and know when to call for assistance.

The guidelines recommend that operators and managers achieve the national industry standards through the following qualifications: Certified Industrial Boiler Operator (CertIBO) for operators; and Diploma in Boiler Plant Operation Management (DipBOM) for managers.

Both qualifications are part of the Boiler Operation Accreditation Scheme (BOAS), and some suppliers now offer BOAS-accredited course for boiler operators and managers.

The guidelines place significant emphasis on appropriate training of industrial boiler operators, according to Stopher Associates Ltd, which advises companies on cost-effective compliance with the new guidelines.

“Compliance with INDG426 and BG01 should not be onerous,” the firm believes. “Although BOAS is recognised as the highest standard, the alternatives of CITB and City & Guilds are appropriate lower-cost alternatives for simple boiler plant.”

Since the arrival of BG01, boiler and heat transfer specialist Fulton Ltd has reported “phenomenal demand” for its training, including two recently introduced one-day courses - ‘Operator Routines and Maintenance’ and ‘Installed Steam Systems’ - which have been certified by City & Guilds.

The company initially scheduled 15 operator routines and maintenance courses a year - each with a maximum of six people - but is now looking at around 100 courses for 2013 in response to industry demand, said Carl Knight, sales and marketing manager at Fulton. The training, he noted, can serve as an “ideal stepping-stone” to other BOAS accreditation courses.

To date, these courses have been requested as on-site courses, even though offsite options are available. This, said Knight, reflects the benefits of training people on specific boilers and system configurations - as well as the high cost penalty of having people away from a site.

“BOAS training involves a very specific course, covers a wide range of areas and is usually delivered off-site,” explained Knight. “There is a cost factor here, as it is expensive to have people off site for a period of time.”
Other suppliers, though, have noted strong demand for off-site training from boiler operators and managers seeking to enhance their knowledge of steam management systems in line with the recommendations of BG01.

Last September, Spirax Sarco reported that the number of delegates taking its BOAS course had tripled in just 12 months, with more training courses being added to meet record demand from boiler operators.
Numbers were also up significantly for BOAS refresher courses. Increasing by 400% between the last two quarters of 2011 and the first two quarters of 2012.

Spirax Sarco has since had to further increase capacity at its Cheltenham-based training centre for BOAS courses in 2013, according to Roger Glassonbury, customer training manager at the company.

“We are still seeing a rise in demand for BOAS training, even on-top of our record figures from 2012,” said  Glassonbury. “We’ve increased our BOAS courses by a third this year, as well as our staff supplying on-site BOAS training for some customers.

“We expect demand to remain buoyant into 2014, as there are whole host of boiler operators and managers that still need to be brought up to speed.”

Commenting on the need for training in this sector, Knight at Fulton says that people are often put in charge of operating steam boilers without any consideration for their competence and experience.

“The standard of competence can be quite poor. Even people who might be very good at running a boiler sometimes understand little of the theory, legislation or technical issues involved,” he said. “They might, for instance, carry out a blowdown procedure ‘robotically’ every Wednesday, without understanding how or why it works or the impact on correct boiler operation or energy costs.”

“Steam boilers are high pressure systems, so there are significant safety implications if they are not properly operated, supervised and maintained.” concluded Knight.  “The onus is now on equipment owners to ensure due diligence is carried out with respect to the safety of the boiler operation and that the people operating it are competent to do so.”