Technical boiler house risk assessment
Published: 14 October, 2014
PWE reports on a new technical conference workshop to help you comply with your legal obligations.
The Combustion Engineering Association (CEA) - an Educational Charity - has been running a series of conferences to help industry understand the changes that the HSE guidance, INDG 436 in the “Safe Management of Industrial Steam and Hot Water Boilers” has brought to bear.
This has been the most significant development in the steam and hot water industry in over a decade and it is therefore essential that owners, operators and managers of boiler plants are aware of the risks, and their respective responsibilities for the safe operation and management of steam and hot water boiler plant.
Since October 2011 when PM5 was replaced by INDG 436 and BG01, the CEA has carried out eleven conferences across the country in support of INDG 436/BG01 and the focus is now changing for the next round of conference workshops.
Previous PM5/BG01 conferences have highlighted the changes in the HSE Guidance for “Automatically Controlled Steam and Hot Water Boilers with the conferences so far having been about the changes.
This new conference workshop will be very different, there will be no duplication of information across the two days but rather a new format, rolling BG01 into, and how to, carry out a technical risk assessment in order to comply with your legal obligations. It will be talking about training and what’s available through its approved training providers and the conference speakers will be on hand for any further help and advice as part of the discussion.
BG01 has become recognised as “Industrial Best Practice” for steam and hot water boilers, and as part of BG01 the legal requirement to carry out a “Technical Boilerhouse Risk Assessment” under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR), Regulation 3, has been highlighted in the guidance.
These question are often asked at the conferences:
• Is INDG436 and BG01 a legal requirement?
o The answer is No it is not, the documents are “Guidance”
o But it is now seen as “Industrial Best Practice” by HSE and the engineering insurance companies.
• What happens if we have an accident or a fatality?
o Should anything go wrong on your plant and somebody is injured or killed this will be the guidance used to identify, what you have done, and equally as important, what you have not done, in following the guidance.
• Where can we get help in understanding what we have to do?
o This is where CEA says it can help you understand the guidance and your obligations and responsibilities. Attendees of the conference workshop will be able to meet some of the experts. You do not have to be a member of the CEA to access this source of information, and industry experts will give you their unbiased advice through the CEA.
The CEA explained to PWE that delegates attending previous conferences requested further support from the Association to help them understand what is required to comply with the law, and who needs to do what within their organisation when carrying out a risk assessment. CEA and its members have responded to this request by creating a conference workshop for risk assessments.
Having done two risk assessment conferences back to back with BG01 it became clear that a practical hands-on workshop is what was needed. This next workshop will be covering what is required in carrying out the “Technical Boiler House Risk Assessment” in detail.
The content of such a risk assessment, is not a slips, trips and falls risk assessment that a health and safety representative might carry out, but as the title states “Technical”, and will require a small team of staff with the right skills to complete the assessment thoroughly.
It is therefore essential for owners, operators and managers to ensure their staff are aware of the risks, and their respective responsibilities, for the safe operation and management of industrial steam and hot water boiler plant.
The next conference will be:
• Technical Boilerhouse Risk Assessment – focussing on compliance to BG01
• It will be over two days on November 26th and 27th 2014, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Crawley, Gatwick.
• The second day will be the workshop element running through various scenarios on different types of boiler plants such as, hot water boilers (MTHW – HTHW), shell boilers, water tube boilers and also CHP into waste heat boilers.
For further information please visit: www.cea.org.uk
