Boiler inspections

All steam boilers are subject to an annual insurance inspection, resulting in downtime for the boiler and potential interruption of manufacturing. The standard solution is to hire a temporary boiler; however, equipment availability cannot always be guaranteed, leaving manufacturing facilities potentially exposed and open to rapidly escalating downtime costs.

To address the problem, Watkins Hire says it introduced its WASPS scheme to guarantee customers access to a dedicated boiler package to cover downtime of steam plant for all locations, with an agreed number of transport movements and commissioning charges for a fixed monthly fee.

One of the first companies to sign up for WASPS was a leading UK packaging specialist with five manufacturing sites across the country, all using steam as a critical element in the production process. Its interest in the scheme was sparked following an annual steam boiler inspection at one of its sites in December, which had to go ahead without a replacement hire boiler unit due to lack of availability, because of seasonal demand over the winter.

The forced shut-down resulted in an unplanned loss of production, resulting in additional costs and delays to orders. The WASPS contract now in place ensures availability of a replacement boiler package for all annual steam boiler inspections at all of the company’s sites, to ensure continuity of manufacturing.