Shan State, Myanmar (ILO News) - Thousands of industrial boilers are in operation every day in Myanmar, and they are employed in industries ranging from food processing to manufacturing and garment. If not inspected and maintained properly, boilers can be the cause of dangerous accidents, leading to loss of life for workers, and major structural damage to plants, facilities and equipment.

With the support of the ILO’s Vision Zero Fund (VZF), in September 2018, twenty-one boiler inspectors from the Directorate of Industrial Supervision and Inspection (DISI) of the Myanmar Ministry of Industry participated in a three day workshop aimed at reviewing the operational and legal framework for boiler inspection in the country.

Led by technical experts from Bureau Veritas, participants designed a training curriculum for boiler inspectors addressing inspection tools, standard operating procedures for inspection, and laboratory equipment. As part of the objectives of the workshop, the activities of current training centres were also reviewed. Participants had also the opportunity to visit a garment factory in Yangon’s Dagon Siekan Township, where the experts from Bureau Veritas carried out an inspection to the factory’s boiler.

Chief Inspector and Director of Boiler Department of DISI, U Kyaw Zin Oo, expressed his appreciation for the Vision Zero Fund’s support to the DISI, as activities like these not only enhance the safety of the boilers, but also increase the capacity of the inspectors, and upgrade skills of boiler operators and repairers.

During the workshop, participants discussed technical aspects of boilers’ components along their safety features, and the importance of competent boiler inspectors, whose key role includes developing the skills of repairers and operators. Basic knowledge and skills of boiler engineers such as welding procedures and advance technical procedures such as Non Destructive Testing Techniques (NDT) were also discussed during the workshop.
A training curriculum focussing on the design, manufacture, operation and maintenance of boilers, as well as NDT techniques, inspection and certification of boilers, was developed by the participants.

As part of the next steps of the VZF in Myanmar, a refresher course will allow to inspect and certify the boilers under the Boilers Act during manufacture, erection, operation and maintenance. Training will be rolled-out in the first quarter of 2019 targeting at least 35 inspectors of all States and Regions where DISI operates.

To expand coverage and the suitability of the training programme, more inspectors, repairers and operators will be locally trained with practical approaches to field visits and standardized skills assessments. In order to continue supporting the DISI, other workshops will be conducted, including a training for electrical inspectors.