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Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators

Operate or maintain stationary engines, boilers, or other mechanical equipment to provide utilities for buildings or industrial processes. Operate equipment such as steam engines, generators, motors, turbines, and steam boilers.

What you’d do

  • Operate or tend stationary engines, boilers, and auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, compressors, or air-conditioning equipment, to supply and maintain steam or heat for buildings, marine vessels, or pneumatic tools.
  • Activate valves to maintain required amounts of water in boilers, to adjust supplies of combustion air, and to control the flow of fuel into burners.
  • Monitor boiler water, chemical, and fuel levels, and make adjustments to maintain required levels.
  • Analyze problems and take appropriate action to ensure continuous and reliable operation of equipment and systems.
  • Observe and interpret readings on gauges, meters, and charts registering various aspects of boiler operation to ensure that boilers are operating properly.
  • Maintain daily logs of operation, maintenance, and safety activities, including test results, instrument readings, and details of equipment malfunctions and maintenance work.
  • Test boiler water quality or arrange for testing and take necessary corrective action, such as adding chemicals to prevent corrosion and harmful deposits.
  • Monitor and inspect equipment, computer terminals, switches, valves, gauges, alarms, safety devices, and meters to detect leaks or malfunctions and to ensure that equipment is operating efficiently and safely.

Skills that matter

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Repairing

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • Boiler Operator
  • Operating Engineer
  • Stationary Engineer
  • Utilities Operator
  • Auxiliary Operator
  • Boiler Technician (Boiler Tech)
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