Being gaslighted by a boss--need some opinions. 1

[Nabrxx]

Hello all,

Our plant leader here is telling us we need to circulate water (chilled and condenser) through all of our machines for 1 hour per barrel, per day.. We have a 12,000 ton plant and this takes 6 hours a night. He says this is required by NYC code. I can't find the code. While I realize that circulating water once a week or so is appropriate to reduce legionella liklihood ...but every night?

Next, He's telling us that we need to rotate every machine in the plant oneline and run for 2 hours per week in order to 'exercise' them during the winter. We have 7 chillers in the plant, 2 electric drive centrifugal and the rest are steam turbines. Again, he says this is a requirement, this time by the manufacturer. Is he crazy?

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[GregLocock]

Is this a hill worth dying for? He is, after all, the boss. If you think it is worth it then sure, challenge him to find the requirements in black and white, or ask the likely authorities.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[Nabrxx]

Point taken

 

[MintJulep]

Seems like an opportunity for a bunch of OT by malicious compliance until the boss's boss sees the bill and starts asking questions.

 

[Nabrxx]

@mintjulep—sounds like the way to go. I knew I wasn’t crazy. I’ll just comply and sit back and wait

Any other comments welcome

 

[geesaman.d]

It's only a hill (to die on or otherwise) if this choice is unsafe. Seems like these practices are safer, not less safe.

Otherwise it's a potential opportunity for operational cost savings. Prioritize accordingly.

It's definitely wise to confirm the legal requirements. If you don't see these in the regs, maybe the regs now say to do something else entirely? Compliance is always worth a double-check.

David

 

[Nabrxx]

It may seem safer, but consider the ramifications of constantly putting a well running plant into transition mode to bring on another chiller in order to exercise it. This activity also impacts our boiler plant who must be prepared to supply the needed steam for a turbine to run. It all seems like busy work with critical chilled water temps out at risk unnecessarily. Just asking—it is what it is—I’ve been playing this game for awhile now

 

[dik]

Is this a requirement? Curious mimes want to know. It's also a waste of resources.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[3DDave]

Having watched Louis Rossmann and his travails with NYC, I don't doubt someone in government told the boss something. Louis was faced with a more than $1M tax bill as the NYC government forgot he had ever paid any taxes.

Get out. Save yourself.

 

[CWB1]

What Greg said. Also worth noting regarding maintenance is that best practices often exceed minimum regulatory or warranty requirements. You could propose a cost-reduction project if you believe your plant's processes arent worth the cost-benefit tradeoff, but may discover that the study has been done and current practice is best.

 

[Nabrxx]

Thanks folks!
Your responses have exceeded my expectations!

 

[cowski]

I agree with Greg; I'd just add one thing: get it in writing. This way the boss can't throw you under the bus if boss' boss thinks it is a waste of time/money.