AES is a leading provider of expert steam and boiler operations and maintenance services. The company prioritises safety, quality, technological advancement, and the development of its workforce. The company invests significantly in training and promotes talented individuals within the industrial operations environment, ensuring equal opportunity for all.
“Retaining skilled people is the main mechanism through which we deliver value to our clients. For this reason – and notwithstanding ensuring that all the right systems and technology are in place – it is ultimately our human resources which make a significant daily difference on site,” says Dennis Williams, AES commercial director. “Further to this, throughout manufacturing and in many vertical industry sectors, boiler operators are typically in short supply, and different skills are needed for specific boiler technologies.”
Specific skills for boiler technologies
Williams explains that less intervention is required for gas- or liquid fuel-fired boilers, as the fuel has a very narrow range of specification variability. However, using coal or biomass as a fuel source is a completely different scenario. This is because one is dealing with a non-uniform fuel. One minute, moisture is low and particle size is large, and the next, moisture is high and the particle size is smaller. Even with modern boiler control systems manual interventions that go beyond an automated fuel feed system are required.
Operators must ensure that fuel is moved to a bunker after delivery, that the fuel transfer system is constantly loaded and that there are no interruptions on transfer to the boiler. Operators must also ensure that fuel gets into the hopper, that there is no bridging in the hopper and that it reaches the furnace for combustion.
However, the real skill kicks in when optimising operations, and Williams says that tweaks are necessary: “Operators must continually check operating parameters visually and with instrumentation, ensuring that combustion is optimised and thus ensuring steam pressure is maintained efficiently, he adds.
“Automatic settings cannot always ensure optimal boiler efficiency, especially in response to rapid changes in steam demand. However, a skilled operator knows when to alter the bed depth, adjust the furnace draught or whether the distribution of air throughout the furnace needs to be adjusted.”
Developing capacity from within
He explains that AES focuses on building internal capacity by selecting employees with the right qualities to become effective boiler operators. Exceptional employees could become ‘float operators’ who move between different sites, operate various boilers, and even serve as training officers, sharing both their theoretical and practical knowledge throughout the organisation. “Typically, we use boiler operator assistants to support our operators on site, aiming to elevate them to boiler operators in training. When an opportunity arises, they can then be promoted. This approach ensures a continuous flow of semi-skilled and skilled boiler staff being developed across our many operational sites.”
Boosting boiler operations
AES has a strong skills pool and an advanced, in-depth knowledge of most boiler configurations. “There are common principles when it comes to control systems, operation, thermodynamics and effective combustion principles. We ensure that our management team, operations and maintenance teams are up to speed with these, and with new boiler technology,” says Williams. AES’s commitment to supporting clients’ boiler operations does not stop there, as a recent boiler installation in Johannesburg recently demonstrated. When a company tasked with commissioning the boilers failed to do so, AES’s technical and projects teams spent three weeks on site to assist. With a thorough understanding of boiler operations, AES could provide the skilled resources required to get the commissioning done successfully.
The company preserves organisational knowledge by meticulously documenting it in comprehensive training manuals. Training on boiler technologies, occupational safety, and other statutory requirements is continuous and includes annual evaluations as well as three-year recertifications for operators at various levels. Simultaneously, the company is committed to continually developing new boiler competencies. This way, AES strives to remain abreast of the latest in global boiler technology and also to remain ahead of market demands. Often, this means partnering with clients, as was the case recently with a company in the food sector. Over the past six years, AES has investigated various boiler technologies and fuel sources on behalf of this client, travelling globally to amass information and expertise. “The high-level resources within the client’s own technical and project teams are assured of a partner in AES that can deliver on the client’s needs,” Williams concludes.
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