Industrial explosions are devastating. Not only will do they lead to completely destroyed equipment and costly repairs, but it can lead to serious injuries and even the loss of lives. These tragedies are avoidable. Combustion equipment safety is necessary to avoid explosions. Here are some tips on how to stay safe when it comes to boilers and combustion equipment.

Keep Up With Preventative Maintenance

Your best defense against accidents or explosions is to stay on top of your maintenance schedule. Over time, dirt, dust and other debris will accumulate in the fans and burners. Due to this, it will change the air and fuel ratios. Many of the components age and wear down. Sludge accumulates, pressure switches age and gas control valves become sloppy. All of these issues could end up causing a problem. Proper maintenance needs to be performed regularly.

You don’t want maintenance performed only once or twice a year. Whether you use an in-house staff or outside contractors, you need to make sure that you maintain it. Make sure that those inspecting and maintaining your machinery are properly trained and have the right equipment, such as a flue gas analyzer. Without the proper equipment and training, accidents will happen.

Understand Fuel System Repair Planning

Often, boiler accidents are a direct result from human oversight or error. When it comes to gas piping repairs, this is a lot different from other repairs. If you don’t have someone with training and knowledge, you could end up in even more trouble. When it comes to gas piping repair, you have to discuss each step of the process in advance. These should be lengthy discussions and processes to adhere to safety standards. The steps are as follows:

• Planning
• Isolation
• Pre-repair purge
• Pressure tests
• Post-repair purge
• Reintroduction and startup

Whenever repairs need to be done, make sure that you have someone with all of the proper knowledge to get the job done right.

When you’re working with boilers and other combustion machinery, you have to be careful. Accidents can easily happen if you don’t adhere to all of the safety standards. Perform regular maintenance and make sure that you understand the repair process.