When it comes to industrial boilers, you should already be aware that as an owner or manager of a workplace, you have a duty to ensure that the relevant health and safety considerations have been taken into account regarding your boiler.
While downtime to your boiler can cause production issues, it is ultimately the safety of your boiler that needs to be the first thing on your mind – especially when it comes to the annual insurance prep.
However, as a business, you may not want to spend a long time on an annual shutdown, as lost hours can lose you money.
Here, we take a look at insurance preparations for your boiler, and what you can do to minimize disruption to your production or plant while inspections and maintenance work is carried out.
Why do you need inspections for insurance?
The Pressure Systems and Safety Regulations require inspections for insurance once a year for high-pressure hot water boilers that operate over 110C, as well as steam boilers.
Quite often, the planning of an annual shutdown of your boiler system or plant will allow all equipment that is served by the boiler to become available for repair and maintenance work at the same time, so it may well be worth getting everything sorted at once.
What will need to be done?
Depending on the boiler system you have, there could be a lot of work to be done, so it is certainly worth contacting a company such as DK Welding Services, that can handle even the most complex systems.
It’s not always about getting the cheapest quote for your boiler insurance prep – you need to know that the work will be done to a high standard and in a timely manner to avoid lengthy shutdown periods or worse still, parts not being ready for inspection when it is required.
Both of these things can cost far more in the long run than the difference in paying a little extra to get the job done right.
Jobs carried out during insurance prep can include, but are not limited to:
- Valve removal, overhaul, and refitting
- Boiler tube or shell repair
- Hydraulic testing
Depending on the complexity of your system, there may be other repairs that are needed, so it is essential you use an experienced company for these inspections to ensure they are able to cope with even the most complex of boilers.
Additional jobs for 5-Year NDT
If it is time for your 5-year NDT (non-destructive testing) then refractory may need to be removed and welds may need to be prepared for testing also. When the testing and inspections are complete, then the refractory will need to be replaced and any lagging may need to be replaced.
Why annual checks are so important
Not only are these checks required by law, but there are also other benefits that can come from having your boiler inspected annually. These can include:
- Improvement of your boiler’s efficiency – Maintenance and repair, done regularly, can reduce fuel consumption and maximize the output of your boiler.
- Increase in your boiler’s lifespan – No business wants to spend money on a new piece of equipment before they actually need to. With regular maintenance of your boiler, you are likely to extend its life, giving you longer to save funds for a new one once it does need replacing.
- Improves safety – Finally, as we mentioned at the beginning of this guide, the most important benefit of keeping your boiler maintained to a high standard is that you are keeping workers and visitors to your premises as safe as you possibly can.
- While financial benefits to regular industrial boiler inspections are important and required for your insurance, there is nothing more important than protecting the safety of your staff.