Page 286 - Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems Design, Construction, and Operations

CHAPTER 16

Operation and Maintenance

Services

Paul Howland

Plant Operators
CHP plant operators, who intimately understand the plant equipment, CHP systems,
controls, modes of operation, and resultant impacts on overall efficiency, as well as
emergency procedures, are key to successful, safe, sustainable CHP plant operations.
CHP operators must be experienced and the exceptional operator knows that he or
she must undergo regular training to stay up-to-date on changing technologies and
regulatory issues.

Experience and Training
Plant operators have always been the key to reliable and efficient CHP plant operation.
In several states and in large cities, a licensing program has been implemented which
challenges plant operators on their knowledge of plant maintenance, operations, and
safety, with the strongest emphasis on safety. Many employers require that the plant
operators who are hired have a steam engineer license issued from the nearest city or
state. Most insurance companies realize that casualties to equipment and personnel are
greatly reduced when licensed operators are employed and have provided incentives
to employers to hire them (if not outright required such licensing).
In the United States, licensing of steam engineers since the 1950s was focused on
plants where steam was produced for district heating and cooling as well as for other
industrial processes. Licensed plant operators were often trained in the navy or through
apprenticeship programs, and upon completion of at least 4 years of training and expe-
rience would qualify to sit for the steam engineer license exam.
Historically, electricity was commonly produced using conventional boilers that
were oil or coal fired to produce steam to drive turbine generators. These plants were
typically owned and operated by utility companies. The utility companies are either
investor owned or run by municipalities. The utility companies have their own internal
training programs, developing several levels of competency with associated job titles
specific to the power industry. As a result they did not require or recognize a steam

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