Operators

When a decision is taken to install a biomass (wood chips or wood pellets) boiler, expertise from the boiler manufacturer, the design engineers and the client is utilised.

However, the Operators who will actually run the boiler from day to day are rarely involved in such design decisions and the sometimes negative impacts of these. Boiler systems ‘value engineered’ to reduce costs often end up with very manual cleaning systems, requiring the boiler to be shut down for sustained periods. This level of intervention costs time and money and for Operators often busy with other work, it may not be a popular set of tasks.

Optiwood has highlighted the importance of Operators, and targeted them for training, dialogue, mentoring and exchanges with other Operators. On-site training with expert engineers, including manual ‘hands-on’ activities has led to improvements and higher motivation.

Optiwood also offers a ‘Toolbox’ of support including an introductory Biomass Manual, Case Studies, Technical Manuals for individual boilers, and videos via this web site.