Scheduled maintenance on critical steam infrastructure is essential to ongoing boiler safety, reliability, and efficiencies. This article discusses the top benefits of regular maintenance for a steam boiler network and explains how Miura’s range of preventive maintenance programs can help boiler operators and engineers sustain a safe, efficient boiler room.
The Top 3 Benefits of Scheduled Maintenance Inspections
Miura understands that prevention is far better than cure and that steam room equipment often forms part of the essential production processes that drive business revenue and growth.
Regular maintenance on boilers and other related steam infrastructure is essential for maintaining efficiencies and meeting regulations set out by national and state regulatory bodies. It is also needed for continuous and reliable steam production.
1. Scheduled Boiler Maintenance is Critical to Ongoing Boiler Efficiency
Keeping a steam boiler system at peak efficiency helps cut costs and reduce emissions. A more efficient boiler requires less fuel to heat water and generate steam.
The in-service efficiency of a steam boiler (how well it handles a facility’s operational needs) can be affected by several issues, including scale build-up caused by insufficiently treated feed water. The insulating layer of this build-up forces the boiler to run at a higher pressure, using more energy to generate steam and increasing the risk of severe damage to the boiler.
Scheduled boiler maintenance combats these issues. Regular inspections limit scale build-up and allow internal components to be checked for damage or wear and tear. Detecting symptoms of major problems early helps prevent unexpected and costly shutdowns.
2. Scheduled Boiler Maintenance is Required By Law
Every state authority has regulations regarding safety standards for pressure vessels in a steam boiler system. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also has its inspection requirements.
Scheduled boiler maintenance keeps critical steam infrastructure up to scratch with these regulations. An efficient, well-kept boiler system is the easiest way to pass these inspections with flying colors.
3. Scheduled Boiler Maintenance Prevents Unscheduled and Costly Downtime
Unforeseen boiler system failures can severely impact a business. Even if the boiler isn’t running, wages and material costs aren’t going anywhere. If problems arise, the cost of constantly repairing an inefficient or faulty boiler quickly outweighs the cost of installing a more reliable system.
Scheduled maintenance can help facility managers avoid sudden downtime. Regular inspections identify weaknesses and areas of corrosion, while internal checkups can detect threats of insulation or tube failure caused by oxygen pitting.
Miura’s Boiler Preventive Maintenance Programs
Miura offers three different preventive maintenance contract options: the Basic Inspection, MMIP program, and the Miura Full Maintenance Contract (MMC).
1. Basic Inspection Contract
Miura’s Basic Inspection Contract is the first port of call for boiler maintenance. Basic inspections are carried out every six months and usually take about 15 minutes. Think of this evaluation as a quick doctor’s checkup — it’s a brief once-over that won’t need the boiler to be taken apart for interior evaluation. About a month before your scheduled inspection date, a Miura technician will call to arrange an exact time that best suits each situation.
Because this inspection is quick, not much preparation is needed for the boiler operator beyond arranging the appointment.
2. Miura’s Full Maintenance Contract (MMC)
The MMC is Miura’s complete preventive maintenance package for your boiler system. MMC inspections are carried out twice a year in January and July and take approximately three to four hours. This involves an internal inspection of the boiler to check for potential problems.
As part of the MMC package, users receive two monthly reports — an in-depth maintenance report and a water analysis report. The latter includes a monthly visit from a Miura technician to take a sample. Subscribers can also mail a water sample to one of our factories in the U.S. or Canada.
To be eligible for the MMC, a Miura boiler needs to have the following technologies:
- Miura Online Maintenance (MOM);
- Colormetry Hardness Monitor;
- BOILERMATE® Chemical Water Treatment;
- MV Water Softener;
- These prerequisites allow the MMC package to offer customers a unique benefit – Miura’s Extended Pressure Vessel (EPV) guarantee; and
- Extended Pressure Vessel Warranty.
While all of Miura’s maintenance programs include a seven-year manufacturer guarantee on the pressure vessel, this doesn’t cover corrosion and other problems. That’s where the MMC’s EPV warranty comes in. A combination of eco-friendly BOILERMATE water chemistry and remote monitoring and support from Miura technicians (using MOM) guarantees the pressure vessel against internal corrosion, scale build-up, and water hardness issues.
If a pressure vessel still runs into problems, Miura will replace faulty parts or even the entire pressure vessel for free. Not many boiler manufacturers can offer that kind of ironclad protection for your steam boiler system.
3. MMIP Contract
Miura’s MMIP preventive maintenance program provides a mid-tier option between a Basic Inspection and the MMC. Like the MMC, MMIP inspections are performed twice a year in January and July and typically take three to four hours.
There are also fewer prerequisites with the MMIP. The only features required for your Miura boiler are:
- MOM;
- Colormetry Hardness Monitor; and
- The MMIP does not offer Miura’s EPV warranty.
How Often Does a Miura Boiler Need to Have Scheduled Work Done?
The frequency of scheduled maintenance for a Miura boiler system depends on which inspection tier you’re in. Basic inspections only take 15 minutes and are scheduled every six months. For customers who don’t use BOILERMATE and only need basic inspections, Miura technicians may only need to visit a facility twice a year.
MMC and MMIP inspections are more in-depth and require a boiler to be shut down and taken apart for internal examination. These inspections need to be performed in the presence of a state or insurance company representative and are scheduled twice a year, usually in January and July.
If a boiler infrastructure is linked to MOM, visits may be more frequent depending on the data we receive from your system.
Automated Maintenance with MOM or Miura Connect
MOM is a state-of-the-art maintenance and monitoring system for steam boiler infrastructure. MOM monitors the data from each component of your system in real-time. If an issue is detected, MOM sends a signal back to our trained technicians using an analog phone line or a 3G cellular signal.
By monitoring and interacting with each boiler, MOM can detect serious problems before they occur. This helps users avoid unplanned shutdowns and allows the team to advise on how to deal with the problem or schedule a visit to tackle the issue.
MOM is required to be eligible for MMIP and MMC preventive maintenance programs.
Real-Time Monitoring with Miura Connect
Miura Connect is a web-based monitoring portal that provides real-time data on each piece of equipment connected to critical stream infrastructure. Miura Connect tracks system health, generates scheduled reports, and provides proactive and preventive maintenance to ensure optimal system reliability.
Teams can even receive real-time text or email notifications via a smartphone, helping team members to remotely track more than 100 individual points per boiler from anywhere in the world.
How to Prepare for an MMC Inspection
Even scheduled downtime like an inspection can affect steam output. Thankfully, during an MMC inspection, a user usually only needs to shut down the specific boiler that’s being evaluated. If a Miura boiler has N+1 capacity, other boilers can take up the slack while one unit is undergoing inspection.
Typically, Miura’s technicians will call the month before the scheduled inspection to arrange a time slot that suits each account. Even if critical steam infrastructure doesn’t have N+1 capability, this gives users time to downsize steam usage while the boiler is out of action.
By arranging a scheduled slot ahead of time, a customer can ensure the necessary personnel is in the boiler room when it’s time for the inspection.
