Inspection and Conformity Assessment Of Industrial Combustion Appliances

Inspection and Conformity Assessment of Industrial Combustion Appliances

In Canada, companies operating gas-burning appliances must comply with provincial regulations applicable to these appliances. These regulations require gas appliances to be approved on site before being put into service. Thereafter, the device must not be modified, otherwise it will lose its initial approval. In practice, the initial approval of devices is often omitted as none of the parties involved (manufacturers, contractors, engineers, owners) have taken responsibility for it. It is also common for the appliance's approval to be lost as a result of component replacements during service or maintenance operations. Since the Authorities Having Jurisdiction, gas distributors, contractors and insurers do not usually audit your installations, gas appliances are too often operated illegally, without the owner/operator being aware of it.

Valtech Energie specializes in the inspection and conformity assessment of industrial combustion appliances in relation to the regulations applicable to these appliances. Our engineers have developed their expertise in analyzing compliance and managing the approval process for complex devices in all industry sectors. In Canada, we can accompany you through all stages of the approval process for your combustion appliances. In the United States, our role is to demonstrate compliance of your devices to the Competent Authority and your insurers.

Services for each stage of compliance:

We audit existing devices or devices being designed in order to identify potential nonconformities. We produce all the additional documentation required for on-site approval of the devices. Our services include:

  • Preparation of the approval file from the available documentation;
  • On-site surveys of the facilities to validate the representativeness of the documents submitted.
  • Updating the documentation provided;
  • Production of the missing documentation required for the approval file;
  • Conformity audit of existing equipment, with the aim establishing if a device re-approval is necessary or identifying non-conformities including:
    • Analysis of existing documentation;
    • On-site inspection;
    • Production of a report highlighting non-conformities with explanations and solutions.
  • Conformity audit of equipment during the design phase, in order to take into account the applicable regulations before the manufacturing and installation phase.

Our firm determines the options available to you in order to make your equipment compliant. We can represent you before the Competent Authority or the approval bodies that it recognizes, in order to defend your rights and to ensure that the particularities of your equipment are taken into account when codes and regulations are applied.

  • Design review and support related to device compliance:
    • Development of technical options and advice;
    • Production of the device’s documentation;
    • Drafting of requests for approvals;
    • Development of alternative measures when regulatory requirements cannot be applied;
    • Drafting of requests for interpretation or different measures (to be submitted to the competent authority) ;
    • Exchange with on-site approval bodies and the competent authority;
    • Supervision of the corrective work related to the compliance of the device.
  • Pre-inspection of equipment before the on-site approval by a recognized organization.

Applicable Regulations

In Canada

The applicable regulations are established by each of the provinces. Gas appliances which have not been factory certified at the time of production shall be subject to on-site approval by the competent authority or by a body recognised by it. In general, the most recent versions of the following codes are adopted with province-specific changes:

  • CSA B108, Compressed Natural Gas Fuelling Centres: Installation Code;
  • CSA B149. 1, Natural Gas and Propane Installation Code;
  • CSA B149. 2, Propane Storage and Handling Code;
  • CSA B149. 3, Code for the On-Site Approval of Fuel-Related Components of Appliances and Equipment (Adopted November 15, 2018);
  • CSA Z276-18, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): Production, Storage and Handling;
  • CSA Z662-15, Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems.

The following main codes are either applicable or used as a reference for other fuels:

  • CSA C22. 2 No. 3 Electrical features of fuel-burning equipment;
  • CSA B139 Installation code for oil-burning appliances. – CSA B149. 6 Code for the production and use of digester gas, landfill gas and biogas. – NFPA 31 Standard for the Installation of Oil-Burning Equipment;
  • NFPA 30 Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code;
  • NFPA 51 Standard for the Design and Installation of Oxygen-Fuel Gas Systems for Welding, Cutting, and Allied Processes;
  • NFPA 54 National Fuel and Gas Code;
  • NFPA 55 Standard for the Storage, Use, and Handling of Compressed and Liquefied Gases in Portable Cylinders;
  • NFPA 69 Standard on Explosion Prevention Systems;
  • NFPA 85 Boiler and Combustion systems Hazards Code;
  • NFPA 86 Standard for Ovens and Furnaces.

In the United States

The equipment must comply with local installation codes required by the authority having jurisdiction (normally the local fire department) or the owner’s insurance company. The main NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards mentioned above are normally considered applicable for fuel-burning appliances in the United States.

Corporate policies of continuous improvement are pushing more and more industries to conduct audits of their facilities, in order to validate the need for new approvals and to keep equipment up to date, integrating the safety principles carried by the most recent standards.

FAQ

  • When a device has not been subject to a recognized certification at the time of manufacture;
  • When an approved device needs to be modified;
  • When an approved device must be moved;
  • When an appliance is to be converted to use a fuel subject to B149. 3 (This requirement does not apply if the conversion was done using a conversion kit certified with the appliance and appropriate for the model).

Devices that have been modified usually require re-approval. For example, the following changes require device re-approval:

  • Introduction of an air/fuel ratio control system;
  • Adding a chimney damper to an oven or boiler;
  • Replacement of the flame monitor or safety switches with models that differ from the original model (by a model that is not considered the replacement model by the manufacturer). The standards in force at the time of this re-approval must be used, allowing the most recent safety features to be introduced.

In Canada, provincial regulations do not allow the operation of an appliance that is not approved or that has lost its initial approval through modification. Businesses that operate equipment illegally are subject to penalties under building laws and regulations. An unapproved device is not known to be safe by the various competent authorities, which creates hefty responsibilities for those involved.

In the U. S. , gas appliances must be shown to comply with local installation codes required by the authority having jurisdiction (normally the local fire department) or the homeowner's insurance company. These obligations are designed to ensure that the appliance is safe and meets current standards and building codes.

In Quebec, natural gas or propane distribution companies must refuse to supply an unapproved installation. In practice, it can be difficult for these companies to have complete knowledge of the devices in service at their customer's sites and to ensure that these devices are safe and have been approved on site.

In Quebec, the responsibility of contractors/service companies is limited to ensuring that an appliance is approved before it is connected to a gas distribution system. It is difficult for these companies to know if the original approval of a device has been lost due to a modification.

Good Practices

Corporate continuous improvement policies are increasingly pushing industries to carry out audits of their installations in order to validate the need to carry out new approvals and to keep equipment up to date, integrating safety principles supported by the most recent standards.

Tell us about your project, it will be our pleasure to assist you in your efforts