Another way to prevent breakdowns is to ensure machin ery is consistently maintained and operating optimally This includes adhering to a strict maintenance schedule to mini mize potential outages Fire hazards When large volumes of waste are handled the risk of fire is ever present making automatic fire protection a necessity In waste to energy automation into a single line process has brought additional risk management issues The waste han dling and control systems are particularly vulnerable If a fire starts and goes unnoticed there is a high prob ability that essential equipment will be damaged If cranes are damaged for instance waste will not be transported to the furnaces for burning Furthermore bunkers at waste to energy facilities are often equipped with water cannons to combat fire but during a fire heat in the bunkers can make it impossible for personnel to reach the cannons In extreme circumstances the structural integrity of a bunker will be jeopardized Automated conveyor systems are also extremely vulner able to fire These conveyor systems are equipped with rubber belts that if involved in a fire will serve as fuel for fire to engulf the system and surrounding materials If the conveyors then collapse there may be no other way to move waste or remove ash from the furnace Both of these scenarios could shut down operations Manual firefighting is often challeng ing because the conveyors may be elevated or in confined spaces Therefore installing automatic sprinkler systems above conveyors and interlocking conveyors to shut down when the systems alarm will help mitigate this hazard In some facilities waste is prepared as fuel by using a sys tem of shredders increasing the risk of localized fires This may be exacerbated by pressurized cans containing propellants in the waste stream e g flammable aerosols Isolating these areas and ensuring that they are adequately protected with auto matic sprinklers can also diminish the fire hazard Equipment breakdowns and fire at waste to energy facil ities have the potential not only to cause property damage and business interruption but also to garner media scrutiny and affect business reputation Furthermore the significant invest ment involved in these facilities translates to a keen focus on delivering results to investors Consequently a robust pro cess around business resilience is needed to minimize the frequency and severity of operational incidents to maintain focus and reassure neighbors and investors MITIGATE THE EQUIPMENT BREAKDOWN General equipment Q Establish and invest in maintenance routines beginning with the operationally critical and more costly items such as turbines where a loss of generation capacity would have a direct impact on the facility s financial performance Conveyors Q Install fixed automatic sprinkler protection over critical conveyors or develop a contingency plan for the movement of waste materials in the event of a conveyor loss Q Shut down the conveyor system in the event of a fire to stop the fire from spreading Fuel preparation shredding Q Use solid construction to isolate shredders Q Install fixed automatic fire protection over shredders Prefire planning Q Establish a prefire plan designed to help combat site specific fires and to coordinate fire protection equipment and personnel resources at the site Q Conduct annual fire drills Waste fires Q Install fixed automatic sprinkler protection at roof level fed from an adequate water supply Q Provide manual or automatic fixed monitor nozzles for manual firefighting at a sufficient pressure to ensure water jets reach the whole waste pile Human element Q Ensure that hired contractors have the correct level of training and supervision to understand the equipment procedures and potential hazards at the site Q Provide consistent training of operators to make sure they are familiar with new or updated equipment Lee Kenny is an FM Global senior engineering technical specialist ISSUE 1 2015 Reason 21 the IDEA

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