Whenever you are running a managing a facility that contains a commercial chimney or smokestack, there need to be a number of important factors to keep in mind and important precautions to have in place. Running such a facility needs great attention to detail. You need to be aware of industry best practices, environmental concerns, and the rules and regulations governing such structures. Therefore, it is important to put your best foot forward in terms of maintaining such structures and making sure you remain you remain fully compliant legally and regulation-wise.
Industrial chimneys and commercial smokestacks perform very important functions in many industries. These do the all-important work of exhausting out air from inside the facilities. In many cases, this is done as to keep the internal working conditions of the facility safe for workers. The presence of such structures might also be instrumental in the workflow of the facility in many ways. Since these structures are so important, it is important to keep them in top shape with proper internal inspections from time to time, as well as make sure that all the relevant rules and regulations are properly followed.
This is more important now than ever as more and more facilities start using higher and higher smokestacks so that spent air can be reliably exhausted and internal conditions kept safe for workers. In fact, statistical data indicate that more and more facilities have started creating taller smokestacks over the last four years. Keeping this development in mind, it is important you have in place the right measures and policies for maintaining these structures properly and making sure that rules and regulations are followed in their use. Let us take a closer look at what this entails and how you can get the maximum result out of these structures.
Understanding the Basics
a large chimney or smokestack is basically a long structure which rises from the roof of many industrial facilities. The sole purpose of this is to exhaust out spent air arising from some of the internal processes inside the facility. To do this, it needs to be significantly high up and structurally sound. This is the most important reason why regular inspection needs to be planned and executed for these structures. This is mostly to ensure structural integrity and efficient and optimal performance, especially when under load.
The general consensus is that the structure should be thoroughly inspected first a year after entering service. This inspection can tell a lot about how the structure is holding up with regular use and the kind of performance you can expect from it with the passage of time. From there on, best practices indicate that binocular inspection of the structure should be done every year. Once every three years, a full height hands-on interior and exterior inspection should be done professionally. This can ensure the best in terms of efficiency, safety, and compliance with local rules and regulations.
Other Considerations
Whenever you are running a facility that features a commercial chimney or smokestack, there can be a number of other considerations that need to be kept in mind. These important considerations can help you remain compliant with rules and regulations and help you avoid problems with authorities and law enforcement bodies. For example, it is mandatory that smokestacks be visible to planes flying overhead on account of their height. There must be lighting installed a few feet lower from the top of the stack as the exhaust can effectively obscure the lighting. It can also be floodlit using proper lighting for better visibility.
There can be a number of things you need to keep in mind when you are operating a facility that features this kind of structure. Keeping these in mind can definitely lead to a far smoother and more compliant workflow, while also resulting in superior performance over time. Since these structures are expensive to build afresh, it can be important to extract as much performance from your existing one as you can. This is where the proper regular inspection and maintenance plans and strategies can really go on to make a major difference.
