Section 041-32-5 - Attendance Requirements for Power BoilersThe following rules govern the required power boiler attendance requirements of licensed boiler operators and/or stationary steam engineers, with consideration of the method of firing fuels, equipment, or machinery being supplied, or the occupation of the building being served:
A. A licensed stationary steam engineer's duties include the observation and manipulation of mechanical, automatic, or remote controls and the testing, clearing, and blow-down or draining of these controls to ensure proper operation of these devices. A stationary steam engineer may also undertake routine cleaning of any boiler and its fuel burning equipment.B. Manual Boilers. Manual boilers must be constantly monitored while in operation by an appropriately licensed individual.C. Automatic Boilers. (1) Power Plant. Boilers located in power plants must be constantly monitored while in operation by an appropriately licensed individual.(2) Process Plant.(a) Boilers located in process plants with 1,000,000 BTU/hour or more aggregate heat input must be monitored at least every 2 hours while in operation by an appropriately licensed individual.(b) Boilers located in process plants with less than 1,000,000 BTU/hour aggregate heat input must be monitored at least every 8 hours while in operation by an appropriately licensed individual. NOTE: Steam kettles used in cooking are considered process units.
(3) Heating Plant. The attendance and monitoring requirements for heating plants are applicable when the boiler is in use and the school or building is open for public use. Any boiler located in a heating plant with 1,000,000 BTU/hour or more aggregate heat input must be monitored at least every 8 hours while in operation by an appropriately licensed individual. Any boiler located in a heating plant with less than 1,000,000 BTU/hour aggregate heat input must be monitored at least once every 24 hours while in operation by an appropriate licensed individual. Only properly licensed stationary steam engineers may change the controls on a high pressure boiler to operate as a low pressure boiler and vice versa. NOTE:
Notes are provided for informational or explanatory purposes. They are intended to provide guidance and/or clarify the rules. They are not part of the rules.
If a plant can simultaneously be classified as more than one type of plant (power, process, or heating), attendance requirements must meet the most stringent attendance requirements based on possible types of plant and operational conditions.
For example:
1. A hospital boiler typically provides steam for heating and process purposes simultaneously. The attendance requirements for a process boiler would meet the requirements of this rule while the plant is providing steam for process purposes. If the plant is only providing a heating load, the plant must meet the requirements for a heating plant.2. A process boiler may provide steam for space heating in addition to steam for a process during production. While production is stopped at the end of the day or on the weekend, a boiler may be used for space heating. During this situation, a process boiler used exclusively for space heating may be considered to be functioning as a heating plant during this time, provided the proper controls are installed for low pressure operation so as not to permit the boiler to operate at greater than 15 PSI steam pressure.3. Process plants and heating plants that are operated as a low pressure boiler do not have mandatory attendance requirements; however, the boiler must be operated and maintained in a safe condition.4. Aggregate heat input is the potential heat input of the plant based on the capacity of the installed boilers connected to a single plant.02-041 C.M.R. ch. 32, § 5