Who is a boiler operator and what does he do?

Today, among young people, office occupations are more popular than blue-collar occupations. However, specialists of the second category remain in demand on the labor market. Today in our article we will consider in detail such a profession as a boiler operator.

The driver (or fireman) of a boiler plant is an employee who monitors the work of operators and crawlers who directly service the boiler. WITHThe specialist ensures the safety, reliability and economy of the process of operating equipment operating on solid or liquid fuels. If we consider this profession from a historical point of view, it is important to note that it appeared at the time of the active development of the energy industry. It should be said that the profession is important and in demand to this day.

The profession of a boiler operator is included in the unified qualification and tariff guide (or ECTS), and the employee carries out his direct professional activities on the basis of a professional standard and job description. All these documents must be familiarized with before officially accepting a job offer, since they contain all the details and nuances of the profession. First of all, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the section "The Responsibilities of a Specialist". This is the only way you can make sure that you are competent to perform work functions.

The duties of a boiler room driver include:

• maintenance of steam and water heating boiler equipment on a regular basis;
• preparatory measures for the high-quality implementation of the seasonal launch;
• boiler room operation monitoring;
• stopping, starting and switching the operating modes of the unit;
• accounting of supplied heat;
• prevention of breakdowns and malfunctions, their timely elimination;
• cleaning of boiler installations (for example, from ash or slag) and many others. dr.

All official documents, which describe the duties of a boiler operator, are standardized. However, at the same time, each individual enterprise and each individual employer can make changes to them. Accordingly, when applying for a job, you need to be prepared for the fact that job responsibilities may change and be supplemented. You, in turn, must be able to quickly adapt to such changes. Remember, you can be held liable for the improper performance of your tasks.

Each boiler house stoker strives to fulfill his duties at the highest level. In order for the employee's working activity to be effective and competent, he must have specialized knowledge and professional skills. Let's consider them in more detail.

The specialist should know:

• the principle of functioning of the boiler plant and additional equipment;
• basics of heat engineering;
• technical parameters of each specific unit;
• labor protection and safety instructions;
• fundamentals of electrical engineering, mechanics and water treatment, and many others. dr.

A professional should be able to:

• prepare fuel mixtures;
• to use advanced domestic and foreign experience in their work;
• be able to provide first aid;
• be able to work with primary fire extinguishing equipment and many others. dr.

The combination of professional knowledge and skills allows the employee not only to competently perform their work functions, but also to quickly move up the career ladder. In addition, it should be borne in mind that often employers put forward requirements not only in relation to professional knowledge and skills, but also in relation to the personal characteristics of the employee.

Depending on the qualifications and competence of the boiler-house driver, in the course of his professional activity, he can increase his category.

The duties of a specialist of the 2nd category include a wide list of works, namely:

• maintenance of equipment with a heating capacity ranging from 12.6 GJ / h to 21 GJ / h (depending on the specific type of unit);
• work with devices with a carrying capacity of no more than 25 tons;
• feeding boilers with liquid, as well as kindling, starting and stopping the operation of equipment;
• equipment cleaning, slag and ash removal;
• work with heating network boiler installations, etc.

In the course of his professional activity, the driver of the 3rd category:

• monitors the processes of operation of traction and ash removal devices;
• Serves devices of crumpled steam with a total load, which is in the range from 42 to 84 GJ / h;
• ensuring the operation of the boiler room without interruptions;
• accounting for the amount of heat;
• implementation of repair and adjustment work, etc.

The job description of an employee of the 4th category includes:

• maintenance of equipment, the heating capacity of which is in the range from 10 to 20 Gcal;
• monitoring of the operation of measuring instruments;
• drawing up a steam consumption plan;
• troubleshooting and breakdowns;
• preventive maintenance, etc.

Work tasks of the 5th grade driver consist of:

• switching power lines;
• starting and stopping the functioning of automatic equipment;
• acceptance of boilers;
• preventive equipment analysis;
• filling and emptying steam lines, etc.

An employee of the 6th category for the most part performs only one function, namely, maintains equipment with a total heat output of 65 Gcal / h.

Thus, depending on the specific grade that the driver has reached, his working functions can vary significantly... Moreover, the higher the rank, the more serious work the employee must perform.

In order to take the position of a boiler operator, you first need to learn a profession. To do this, you need to graduate from a higher educational institution in the relevant specialty, as well as take advanced training courses. In general, we can conclude that modern employers put forward increased educational requirements for these specialists.

The boiler operator works at specialized enterprises. Wherein a graduate of an educational institution starts with starting positions (for example, a crawler)... Only after a young specialist masters basic professional skills and abilities, as well as gains work experience, can he apply for higher positions. In general, boiler operators can work both in state enterprises (for example, in a city thermal power plant) and in private organizations. The salaries of the latter are usually higher.

Thus, we can conclude that boiler operator is a highly paid and in-demand profession... It will attract those young people who are fond of the exact sciences (for example, mathematics, physics, chemistry). Having received the appropriate diploma of education, you will not be left without a job and will always be in demand in the personnel market.