As a certified and state licensed Class III Pressure Vessel Repairer up to 750 psi, I wanted to pass this on. This is critical to the boiler folks. At the bottom of this is the Gleason Steam address. In my opinion they are a very reputable company and I don't mind placing their information on my site. They provide training online for people that can't make it in person. After being involved with a few boiler explosions during my career I felt strongly in passing this information on. I am not endorsing anyone or anything except safety and training.
CoViD-19: Unintended Safety Consequences
Across all industries, CoViD-19 is certainly distracting, disrupting, and changing our lives. There are and will be unintended consequences due to changes in operations requiring steam system shutdowns and subsequent start-ups. Especially critical from a safety standpoint is making sure that we eliminate the water prior to and during start-up. (It is also good practice to drain the system upon shutdown due to corrosion.) Failure to do so can likely result in water hammer events endangering personnel and damaging system components. During the current crisis, because of manpower reductions and operational disruptions, we've already become aware of several near-miss accidents that have resulted during start-ups. Skeleton crews and unusual circumstances can encourage shortcuts or detours from normal procedure. For this reason it is imperative that facility managers provide proper start-up procedures to their employees. Personnel should be held accountable for diligently and consistently adhering to these procedures. Including the following items in system start-up procedures should be considered:
· Procedures to be formatted as a CHECKLIST
· Warm-up to be slow and methodical
· Ensure any removed insulation has been replaced
· Use radio communication between participants
· Warm-up valves to be used on any isolation valve > 3"
· Open drip leg blowdown valves
· Open strainer blowdown valves
· Confirm that all steam trap stations are in service
· Open test valves downstream of steam traps to ensure evacuation of condensate
· Once system is running, check test valves again to confirm proper steam trap operation
· Monitor expansion joints, blowdowns, steam quality, movement, and noise throughout
· Hold personnel accountable for diligent and consistent use of start-up checklists
All drip leg steam trap stations should be evaluated regularly. At-a-glance saturated temperature indication along with operator training should be standard specification.
AVAILABLE NOW: REAL TIME ONLINE TRAINING and ONLINE SYSTEM TROUBLESHOOTING steam@gleasonincorporated.com
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