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What the Wise Operator Knows 121

cause the operators had no vision. But, because the high- Engineers) meeting because I spend enough time with
er-ups in the organization didn’t know and wouldn’t ASME, ASHRAE, AEE and others but I still believe ev-
oppose their operators, their requirements were met. I ery boiler operator should belong to that association, its
hope you don’t repeat that error. an association for boiler plant operators.
I’ll cover one more point on this side of this subject Attending the regular meetings of your local chap-
and then quit making some of you feel guilty. The reason ter of NAPE will give you an opportunity to talk to other
many operators object to any changes in a plant is they operators and learn what they’re doing. There are also a
feel their job is threatened. I’ve seen many situations considerable number of publications, mostly magazines,
where plant changes were made intentionally to reduce that target decision makers in boiler plants and similar
personnel. There’s no guarantee that it will not happen facilities and a lot of them provide the subscription at no
to you, regardless of the fact that eliminating operators cost; the advertisers pay for the cost of publishing them.
can’t possibly save money because plants left to their If you join NAPE you’ll probably get a lot of invitations
own will not operate as efficiently. I’ve only seen a to free subscriptions to the magazines. That association
couple of instances where money was truly saved and it and others like it are your best resource for information.
was because the operators originally didn’t do anything Use them to increase your knowledge about the indus-
but show up for work. try and you’ll be prepared for whatever comes down the
In today’s market there’s no reason to fear being road. You’ll also be knowledgeable enough that your
put out of a job. Qualified, experienced boiler opera- opinions will be welcomed in any planning for modern-
tors are becoming a rare commodity. You may have to ization or upgrades in your plant.
change jobs but you won’t be out of work long. I really Even if you don’t have a say in the moderniza-
doubt if you will be laid off with any plant upgrade tion or upgrading of your plant you do have a part to
or modernization because you’re interested enough in play. The first and most important thing to do is listen. I
doing a quality job to purchase this book. No wise em- wish I could learn to follow that piece of advice myself,
ployer will get rid of a wise operator. Just last Tuesday I seldom listen long enough; I allow my mind to start
an employer told me frankly that he had to eliminate the winding up before I hear the whole story and then stick
steam plant but he was going to keep all his employees my foot in my mouth. It’s hard, I know it’s hard, but
by transferring them. whenever you try to just listen and say nothing until
If you know the equipment you’re operating is asked you’re a lot better off. You’ll learn what’s going on
inefficient, always breaking down, costing too much to and you’ll gain insight into what will happen.
maintain, etc., then you might just be able to demonstrate Right after listening comes reading. I’ve said it be-
to your employer that it would pay to replace it. The typi- fore and I’ll continue saying it, the wise operator is the
cal employer is concerned first for the reliability of the one that reads the instruction manual. I’ve had experi-
plant and secondly for its cost of operation. Actually I’m ence with manufacturer’s service engineers that didn’t
not certain that many of them really realize how much it’s read their own instruction manual and enjoyed laugh-
costing them to run their plant; many of them never think ing at them when the supposedly dumb boiler operator
about the sum total of all the monthly fuel bills. pointed out the solution to their problem in their own
Anyway, you should be aware of how your op- book. Every piece of equipment is unique and has its
eration compares with others and what’s available to own unusual features, sometimes just to make them dif-
improve the operation of your plant. That requires ob- ferent from everyone else’s, and those features should
taining information on how other plants perform and always be in the instruction manual. There will come a
what’s available to improve the operation of yours. I’ve time when you will be expected to operate that new stuff
never attended a NAPE (National Association of Power and you better be prepared.