New city law to affect boiler repairs.The days of building superintendents A building superintendent or building supervisor (often known simply as the super) is a manager responsible for repair and maintenance in a residential building. They are the first point of contact for residents of the building. and fly-by-night repairmen tinkering tin·ker n. 1. A traveling mender of metal household utensils. 2. Chiefly British A member of any of various traditionally itinerant groups of people living especially in Scotland and Ireland; a traveler. 3. with boilers are over. Now, because of a new City law which took effect July 1st, boiler repairs can only be performed by companies with a certified stamp number and certified welders, ensuring the integrity of their work. "This law will have a dramatic effect on the quality of boiler work in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. ," said Richard Blaser, president of Atlas Welding welding, process for joining separate pieces of metal in a continuous metallic bond. Cold-pressure welding is accomplished by the application of high pressure at room temperature; forge welding (forging) is done by means of hammering, with the addition of heat. and Boiler Repair, Inc. A major component of the regulations (already in place throughout New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of State and most of the country) is that all low pressure boiler welding repairs must be performed by certified welders. In New York City, such repairs are also required to have a metal tag attached to the weld. This tag lists the name and certified stamp number of the welder, along with the date of the repair. The certified stamp number comes from what is called an R stamp, which is issued by the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Pressure vessel A cylindrical or spherical metal container capable of withstanding pressures exerted by the material enclosed. Pressure vessels are important because many liquids and gases must be stored under high pressure. Inspectors to each qualified repair company. Obtaining an R stamp from the Board has never been easy. Currently, there are only 12 repair companies in New York City that have them. To receive an R stamp, a company must prove it has a quality control manual in place that is being enforced. It must also employ certified welders exclusively for boiler repairs. If a certified welder leaves a company to work for a non-certified company, he loses his certification. While the new law holds insurance companies more accountable, they have traditionally been on-site for many boiler repairs, depending on the nature and complexity of the job. "We integrate ourselves into the R stamp program The stamp program of a postal organisation is an umbrella term for the entire process of postage stamp issuance and distribution by the organization. Aspects include the decision of about stamps to issue, what postal rates they will pay, postage stamp design, printing, and ," said Dennis Palmer, regional manager of Engineering Services for The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co., adding that a repair firm is obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. to initiate a relationship with an insurance carrier before an R stamp is obtained. Once the R stamp is in place, the firm must submit to a review by the National Board every three years and an annual audit by an authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: insurance company such as Hartford Steam Boiler. "You want to make sure whoever is working on your boiler is qualified. Otherwise, the consequences could be severe," Blaser said. "The devastation that can happen when a pressure vessel explodes is incredible." Building Owners More Accountable The new law also extends the safety net by holding boiler owners, i.e building owners, and authorized insurance companies more accountable. Under the regulations, the owners are required to file with the Department of Buildings before any repair or replacement work is done on a boiler. Additionally, the boiler must be clearly identified with its Department of Buildings number. Owners must also tell the Department when a new or replacement boiler is purchased and whether they want it to be inspected by an authorized insurance company or the Department. Insurance Companies to Comply In order for the Department of Buildings to better track boilers, insurance companies are required to use the boiler number in all correspondence with the Department. The number must also be affixed af·fix tr.v. af·fixed, af·fix·ing, af·fix·es 1. To secure to something; attach: affix a label to a package. 2. to the boiler on a non-combustible tag, painted on the wall near the boiler or painted on the boiler in a readable fashion. Insurance companies must notify the Department of Buildings when the owner's address changes and/or when there is a new building owner. If insurance is canceled, the Department must be notified within 30 days and told whether the last inspection of the boiler was satisfactory. Although the requirements of the law may be new to many companies in the New York area, the law itself is not. The National Board Inspection Code has established rules and regulations for boilers nationwide and many of them, including the State of New York's, have been in place for a number of years. Each city in the state is required to at least adhere to adhere to verb 1. follow, keep, maintain, respect, observe, be true, fulfil, obey, heed, keep to, abide by, be loyal, mind, be constant, be faithful 2. those standards, although major cities are allowed to do their own, more stringent regulations. The New York City regulations follow those of the state. |
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