Section 57: Steam boilers – maintenance, examination and use

57. Steam boilers – maintenance, examination and use (1) Every steam boiler and all its fittings and attachments shall be properly maintained. (2) No steam boiler shall be operated except by or under the constant control or supervision of a competent person. (3) No person shall enter or be in any steam boiler which is one of a range of 2 or more steam boilers unless— (a) all inlets through which steam or hot water might otherwise enter the boiler from any other part of the range are disconnected from that part; or (b) all valves or taps controlling such entry are closed and securely locked, and, where the boiler has a blow-off pipe in common with one or more other boilers or delivering into a common blowoff vessel or sump, the blow-off valve or tap on each such boiler is so constructed that it can only be opened by a key which [Issue 1] O2 – 40 Revised Laws of Mauritius cannot be removed until the valve or tap is closed and is the only key in use for that set of blow-off valves or taps. (4) No work shall be permitted in any boiler-furnace or boiler-flue until it has been sufficiently cooled by ventilation or otherwise to make work safe for any person who is required to work therein. (5) Every steam boiler and all its fittings and attachments shall be thoroughly examined by a registered boiler inspector at least once every 12 months. (6) An examination under subsection (5) shall consist, in the first place, of an examination of the boiler when it is cold and the interior and the exterior have been suitably prepared, and secondly, except in the case of an economiser or superheater, of an examination when it is under normal steam pressure; the examination under steam pressure shall be made as soon as possible after the examination of the boiler when cold, and the registered boiler inspector shall ensure that the safety valve is so adjusted as to prevent the boiler being worked at a pressure greater than the maximum permissible working pressure. (7) The original report of the result of every such examination, in the form set out in the Sixth Schedule, shall be sent by the owner to the Director, Occupational Safety and Health within 28 days of the completion of the examination. (8) (a) Where the Permanent Secretary is not satisfied as to the thoroughness of an examination of a steam boiler by a registered boiler inspector, he may require the boiler to be re-examined by a competent person nominated by him and the employer shall give the necessary facilities for the re-examination. (b) The cost of such re-examination shall be met by the employer. (9) Where as a result of a re-examination it appears that the report of the previous examination was inadequate or inaccurate in any material particular, the report shall be implemented as that of a boiler inspector.