Operating Engineer - Winter 2015

Education & Training
Stationary Engineers Keep Things Chill All Winter Long
variable frequency
drives (VFD’s), which
is an integral part of the
cooling tower’s winter
operation. VFD’s are
commonly used to
control the water flow
to the cooling tower
and a separate VFD is
employed to control
the speed at which
air flows through the
cooling tower.
TYPICALLY, WE THINK of our
chilled water plants as part of an
operation that only occurs during
warmer weather when ‘comfort’
cooling is required. However, times
have changed with the addition
of computer server rooms and
other critical systems that require
mechanical cooling around the clock,
every day of the year. In regions where
outside climates can reach well below
32 °F, this can prove quite challenging
when operating a condenser water
plant and its cooling towers.
In the Chicagoland area, Local 399
Stationary Engineers utilize the IUOE’s
on-line Blackboard training modules
for Cooling Towers, as well as other
resources, to ensure their operators
have a full understanding of how these
systems are to operate under adverse
conditions.
During the cold winter months,
Stationary Engineers must understand
the effects of the air flowing though the
tower and water flow rates, as well as the
importance of knowing how the wetbulb
temperatures effect the cooling
towers operation. Continuously
monitoring and controlling the flows of
both the air and water to these cooling
towers and correctly interpreting the
data is critical for both the operation of
the condenser water loop, as well as the
structural integrity of the cooling tower
itself. Using this knowledge keeps the
cooling towers water flowing at desired
temperatures and operating within
safe and acceptable ice formation
limits, which eliminates the possibility
of a catastrophic structural failure.
The cooling tower design and
operation features various primary
and ancillary components which
require maintenance from a highly
trained and skilled engineer. One of
the components often used are the
Jim Rafferty,
an IUOE Local 399
instructor, guides
trainees through some
of the ‘mysteries’ of
basic programming
and operation of the
VFD’s. Some of the
ancillary components,
such as solenoid valves
and electric heat trace,
require additional
training and are offered
as part of the Local’s
training curriculum.
The example above is just one of
the numerous challenges and the skills
sets needed to operate these complex
systems correctly, many of which
require specialized training. But these
are the challenges and opportunities
that when conquered, help us to excel
in our profession. As technology
and processes change, our collective
responsibility is to communicate those
changes to the Local Unions so they
have an opportunity to develop ways to
educate, support and strengthen all of
the members.
[above] Atop of Chicago, Local 399
members Ed Juracka, Mike Lynch and
Brian Yanahan keep the cooling towers
running at maximum efficiency, no matter
what the weather conditions.
[article & photo] Tom Phillips/Local 399
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER