bulletin - The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors

REGUlATORY REVIEW
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enough retirees
in some regions of the
country to meet present
needs of these companies.
Granted, there will be a
surplus of retirees available
within the next five to ten years.
Unfortunately, this retiree pool will
become less plentiful thereafter. If
we do nothing to replenish commis-
sioned personnel, the result can easily
become a deteriorating safety process
brought about by too many boilers and
pressure vessels inspected by fewer and
fewer commissioned inspectors. In North
America, this predicament will be aggra-
vated by the addition of a million pieces of
new equipment put into service each year.
So much for identifying the problem. Is there a
solution?
There is one — and it should be duly noted —
NATIONAl BOARD BUllETIN/FAll 2006
only one effective way to alter our impending dilemma: increasing
inspector salaries.
Jurisdictions with higher pay scales seldom have difficulty
recruiting commissioned inspectors. Nor do they experience much
turnover. Money is an ideal incentive to not only attract people
to the profession (particularly young people), but remain in it.
If over the next five to 10 years our industry seeks to retard
a depletion of knowledge — and perhaps more important,
experience — it will need to encourage salaries competitive with
other skilled trades. That translates to increased or perhaps new
jurisdictional revenue sources. States, provinces, and cities must
come to realize keeping fees and processing costs artificially low
only serve to exacerbate a worsening condition.
Don’t get me wrong. Prudent control of public funds is admirable.
But why has the cost of living risen more than 20 percent over
the past ten years while boiler and pressure vessel inspection
fees and processing costs in North America have climbed less
than two percent?!
As we all know, the latter part of the twentieth century saw the
boiler inspection profession enjoying a ready-made source of
inspection personnel: the armed forces. There were literally
thousands of individuals who received solid training and
appreciable experience with boilers during their service time.
Those days are over. Many of the veterans who drifted toward
careers in the boiler and pressure vessel industry have taken
retirement or are close thereto.
As much as we promote the noble and professionally satisfying
endeavor of boiler inspection, many young people coming out
of school today are in search of immediate job gratification
punctuated by a dollar sign. Those who do opt for an inspection