Page 17 - Boiler_Operators_Handbook,_Second_Edition

2 Boiler Operator’s Handbook

History is replete with stories of boiler operators else gets hurt. The operator that risks his life to save a
doing stupid things because their first priority was con- friend that committed a stupid act is not a hero. He’s
tinued operation. There are the operators that literally another fool. Abandoning responsibility to maintain
held down old lever acting safety valves to get steam control of a situation and risking your life is getting your
pressure higher so their boat would beat another in a priorities out of order. While preventing or minimizing
race. Many didn’t live to tell about it. I recall a chief injury to someone else is important, it is not as impor-
engineer aboard the steamship African Glade instructing tant as protecting you.
me to hit a safety valve with a hammer when he signaled Other people should follow you on your list of
me; so the safety would pop at the right pressure. The priorities. There are occasions when the life or well be-
object was to convince the Coast Guard inspector that ing of other people is dependent on a boiler operator’s
the safety valve opened when it was supposed to. A actions. There are many stories of cold winters in the
close look at that safety valve told me that hitting it with north where operators kept their plants going through
a hammer was a dumb thing to do. Thankfully the valve unusual means to keep a population from freezing. A
opened at the right pressure of its own accord. That was favorite one is the school serving as a shelter when gas
an example of self endangerment to achieve a purpose service was cut off to a community. When the operator
that, quite simply, was not worth risking my life. ran out of oil, he started burning the furniture to keep
It’s regrettable that keeping pressure up is the heat up. That form of ingenuity comes from the skill,
priority of many operators. Several of them now sit knowledge and experience that belongs to a boiler op-
alongside Saint Peter because they were influenced by erator and allows him to help other people.
the typical plant manager or others and put the wrong Next in the proper list of priorities is the equip-
things at the top of their list of priorities. Another opera- ment and facilities. Keeping the pressure up is not as
tor followed his chief’s instructions to hit a safety valve important as preventing damage to the equipment or
so it would pop several years ago. The valve cracked the building. A short term outage to correct a problem
and ruptured, relieving the operator of his head. With- is less disrupting and easier to manage. It’s better than
out a doubt the superintendents and plant managers a long term outage because a boiler or other piece of
that demanded their now dead operators blindly meet equipment was run to destruction. The wise operator
selected objectives are still asking themselves why they doesn’t permit continued operation of a piece of equip-
contributed to their operator having the wrong impres- ment that is failing. Plant operations might be halted
sion. Despite how it may seem, your boss doesn’t want for a day or week while parts are manufactured or the
you risking your life to keep the pressure up; he just equipment is overhauled. That is preferable to running
loses sight of the priorities. The wise operator doesn’t it until it fails—then waiting nine months to obtain
list pressure maintenance or other events as having pri- a replacement. You can counter complaints from fel-
ority over his safety. low employees that a week’s layoff is better than nine
So what is at the top of the list? You are, of course. months. There are several elements of operating wisely
An operator’s top priority should always be his own that consider the priority of the equipment.
safety. Despite the desire to be a hero, your safety should Many operators choose to bypass an operating
take priority over the health and well being of other limit to keep the boiler on line and avoid complaints
people. It simply makes sense. A boiler plant is attended about pressure loss. Even worse, they bypass the limit
by a boiler operator to keep it in a safe and reliable op- because it was a nuisance. “That thing is always tripping
erating condition. If the operator is injured, or worse, he the boiler off line so I fixed it.” The result of that fix is
or she can’t control the plant to prevent it becoming a frequently a major boiler failure. Operator error and im-
hazard to other people. proper maintenance account for more than 34% of boiler
For several years a major industrial facility near failures.
Baltimore had an annual occurrence. An employee The environment has taken a new position on the
entered a storage tank without using proper entry pro- operator’s list of priorities within the last half century.
cedures and subsequently succumbed to fumes or lack Reasons are not only philanthropic but also economic.
of oxygen. Now that’s bad enough, but… invariably Regularly during the summer, the notices advise us that
his buddy would go into the tank in a failed effort to the air quality is marginal. Sources of quality water are
remove him, and they both died. Rushing to rescue a dwindling dramatically. The wrong perception in the
fool is neither heroic nor the right thing to do; calling 911 minds of the company’s customers can reduce revenue
then maintaining control of the situation is; so nobody (in addition to the costs of a cleanup) and the combina-