BOILER
DIVISION HISTORY
The following
was presented to our SEMPPES membership February 17, 2005 by Mr. Robert J. Aben
Jr., Chief Inspector, Boiler Division, State of
To lay the foundation for this presentation, it is necessary to discuss
events that lead to the establishment of a boiler division.
In the mid nineteenth century, during the industrial revolution, steam
was in great demand to provide the power necessary to operate manufacturing
equipment.
During this period there was no one standard in existence to guide
individuals in the construction of boilers.
Consequently boilers of all types and sizes were being constructed.
Many designs resulted in catastrophic explosions.
To name just a few;
March 2, 1854 Fales and Gray Car Works, Hartford Connecticut
, 21 dead, 50 seriously injured.
April 27, 1865, Steamboat Sultana, Memphis Tenn, 1500 of the
2200 passengers dead.
March 10, 1905 a shoe
factory in
During the late 1800's, accidents were occurring at the rate of one
every four days resulting in 50,000 deaths annually.
Only the most spectacular explosion received front-page
status in newspapers. In fact, boiler explosion occurred so often and were so
misunderstood that they were considered an act of God.
Boiler explosion peeked around 1905 with approximately 400 reported in
that year. You can easily understand why there was a public outcry demanding
that something be done to stop these explosions.
By 1915, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) had
developed a standard for the construction of boilers which would provide a safe
and reliable product. But there remained the task of requiring people to use
this standard.
In 1916, the Uniform Boiler Laws Society prepared and sponsored a
uniform boiler law which would adopt the ASME boiler code and uniform
inspection procedures.
In December of that year, a Uniform Boiler Congress was held in
This was an attempt at the national level to convince jurisdictions of
the need to adopt the standard and enforce the requirements of ASME code.
Delegates attending the Uniform Boiler Congress included representatives
from 22 states, the
The development of a standard for construction of boilers and the
adoption of these requirements into law was quite an accomplishment. However,
the task of assure compliance with these requirements was left to the
jurisdiction adopting the standard.
Boiler Division records indicate that in 1919 the Board began issuing
certificates of competency to inspectors who met the Boards qualification
criteria.
These inspectors worked for Insurance Companies and the cities of
Most inspections were reported by Insurance company inspectors for
boilers they insured. This necessitated the employment of inspectors by the
Department of Labor and Industry to inspect and report on boilers which were
not insured nor inspected. According to Boiler division records, the Department
employed from one to three inspectors from 1921 until 1965.
In 1921 P.A. 43 created the Department of Labor and Industry which
absorbed the Board of Boiler Rules and all powers and duties vested in the
Board.
The 1923 revision of act 174 established the Chief Inspector as an
officer of the Board charged with the responsibilities to; issue and revoke
inspector commissions;
Exercise general supervision over all inspectors; issue, receive, check and file all
manufacturers data reports; issue certificates of inspection and authorize
manufacturers to construct boilers.
Other additions included in this revision were;
the adoption of the ASME code for construction of Boilers; establishment
of rules for the examination of inspectors to determine their competency prior
to issuance of a certificate of competency.
Note that although the ASME code for construction of boilers was
available in 1917, it was not until 1923 that
Also note worthy is the formulation of the
National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors in 1919. The
organization was formally ratified in 1921 at a meeting held in the city of
On March 26, 1928 the Board issued an order stating that all
boilers complying with the ASME Boiler Code shall be accepted for use in this
state when properly certified by a qualified inspector of the National Board
of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors.
Also on this date, the Board issued an order that no person, firm or
corporation shall repair steam boilers unless registered with the Board and
duly authorized to do such work.
Rules promulgated under the 1933 revision of P.A. 174 required Hot Water
Heating and Hot Water Supply boilers to be constructed in accordance with ASME
code. Rules were also established to provide guidance for certain repairs to
steam boilers.
The 1953 revision of P.A. 174 appears to have been a major revision to
the act and rules. All references to the Chief Inspector were replaced with the
Commissioner of Labor. The rules for
repair to boilers by fusion welding were extensively expanded.
In 1966, with the establishment of P.A 1965 no. 290, the department
employed 13 inspectors, a Chief and an office staff of approximately eight
people.
P.A. 290 of 1965 created a 10 member Board of Boiler Rules;
Adopted the ASME code for the installation of boilers;
Required licensing for inspectors, installer and repairers;
Included rules for inspection of boilers;
and provided stiffer penalties for noncompliance of the rules.
Today the boiler division employs a Chief Inspector, an
Assistant Chief, a Senior Inspector, four administrative support staff and 16
Deputy Inspectors.
We have approximately 73,000 boilers registered throughout the state
more than half of which are inspected by state inspectors.
Annually we issue approximately 4000 installation and repair permits;
700 violations, usually against new installations and our inspections staff
conduct approximately 15,000 re-inspections.
We license over 1800 installers
120 repairers
200 inspectors
Administer over 130 examinations annually for new applicants.
We conduct training seminars for inspectors and other organization
associated with the boiler industry.
We conduct surveys for ASME of contractors in
We endeavor to provide the best service possible to the citizens and
boiler industry of