Section 408.4012. Definitions.

(1) “Accident” means a sudden and accidental breakdown of a boiler or a part of a boiler that results in physical damage to the boiler which necessitates the repair or replacement of the boiler or a part of the boiler. “Accident” does not mean a breakdown due to any of the following unless a unique or unusual explosion hazard exists as a result of the breakdown:

(a)     Normal erosion.

(b)     Corrosion.

(c)     Wastage of metal that requires restoration.

(d)    Leaking tubes.

(e)     Weakened metal, such as water legs or handhole areas.

(2)     “Act” means 1965 PA 290, MCL 408.751 to 408.776 and known as the boiler act of 1965.

(3)     “Aftercooler” means a device used for lowering the temperature of a boiler blowoff discharge before it enters the building drain.

(4)     “Alteration” means any change in the item described on the original manufacturer’s data report that affects the pressure-containing capability of the boiler or its piping.  A

nonphysical change such as an increase in the maximum allowable working pressure (internal or external) or design temperature of a boiler or its piping is an alteration.

(5)        “ASME,” “ASME boiler and pressure vessel code,” “ASME code,” or “code” means the boiler and pressure vessel code of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, with addenda, as prescribed and approved by the council of the society.

(6)       “Authorized inspector” means an individual who is designated as an authorized inspector by an authorized inspection agency, who holds a valid certificate of competency and national board commission with an “A” or “B” endorsement, and who is employed by the authorized inspection agency that assumes responsibility for the individual’s actions.

(7)     “Board of boiler rules” or “board” means the board created by the act.

(8)      “Boiler assembler” means a corporation, company, partnership, or individual who assembles a boiler that has been delivered in pieces. For ASME code section I power boiler assemblies, a boiler assembler shall possess the appropriate code symbol stamps.

(9)     “Boiler blowoff piping” means the piping, fittings, and valves from the boiler to the blowoff tank, blowoff separator, or other safe point of discharge through which the water in the boiler may be blown out under pressure, except for drains such as those used in water columns, gauge glasses, or piping to feed water regulators and similar devices.

(10)      “Boiler blowdown vessel” means an unfired pressure vessel into which water is discharged above atmospheric pressure from a boiler blowoff line.

(11)       “Boiler installation” means the installation of a boiler, including all connected piping, valves, fittings, flanges, firing equipment, controls, appurtenances, and auxiliaries. The term includes the field assembly of boilers.

(12)     “CSD-1” means the ASME code for controls and safety devices for automatically fired boilers.

(13)      “Certificate of competency” means a certificate issued to a person who has passed an examination for inspectors prescribed by the board of boiler rules.

(14)     “Chief inspector” means the chief boiler inspector appointed under the act.

(15)     “Condemned boiler” means a boiler that has been inspected and declared unsafe or rejected for use by an inspector who is qualified to take such action and who has applied a stamping or marking designating its rejection.

(16)     “Department” means the department of licensing and regulatory affairs.

(17)          “Deputy inspector” means an inspector who is licensed under the act and employed by the director.

(18)     “Existing installation” means and includes any steam boiler constructed, installed, placed in operation, or contracted for before August 10, 1917, or any hot water heating or supply boiler constructed, installed, placed in operation, or contracted for before the effective date of these rules.

(19)      “External inspection” means an inspection which is conducted while the boiler is under pressure and which does not involve examination of the internal surfaces of the pressure parts of the boiler.

(20)       “Field assembly” means assembling prefabricated boiler pressure parts without field welding or riveting.

(21)       “Field erection” means the erecting and assembling of boiler parts by welding, riveting, or other fabrication processes.

(22)     “Flash tank” means a closed vessel equipped with internal baffles or an apparatus for the purpose of separating moisture from flash steam as it passes through the vessel.

(23)      “Hobby” means an interest or activity that a person pursues in his or her leisure time without compensation.

(24)      “Hot water heating and hot water supply boiler” means a boiler that operates at pressures of not more than 160 psi or temperatures of not more than 250 degrees Fahrenheit, at or near the boiler outlet.

(25)        “Incompetence” means a departure from, or a failure to conform to, minimal standards of acceptable practice for the occupation.

(26)      “Inspector” means an individual who holds a valid certificate of competency and national board commission.

(27)       “Internal inspection” means an inspection made when a boiler is shut down and handholes or manholes are opened for inspection of the interior.

(28)      “Labeled” means devices, equipment, appliances, or material to which have been affixed a label, seal, symbol, or other identifying mark of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, inspection agency, or other organization concerned with product evaluation that maintains periodic inspection of the production of the items and by whose label the manufacturer attests to compliance with applicable nationally recognized standards.

(29)     “Licensed boiler installer” means a person licensed under the act to engage in the business of making piping connections to a boiler or in the business of field-assembling boilers.

(30)       “Licensed boiler repairer” means a person licensed under the act to engage in making or supervising all phases of boiler repair, alteration, or field erection.

(31)     “Listed” means equipment, appliances, or material included in a list published by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, inspection agency, or other organization concerned with product evaluation that maintains periodic inspection of production of listed equipment, appliances, or materials, and whose listing states either that the equipment, appliances, or material meets nationally recognized standards or has been tested and found suitable for use in a specified manner. The authority having jurisdiction shall utilize the system employed by the listing organization to identify a listed product.

(32)      “Maximum allowable working pressure” or “MAWP” means the maximum gage pressure permissible for boiler to operate.

(33)       “Maximum operating pressure” means the maximum operating pressure of the complete boiler system as designed, which shall include supply, return, feed, and blow off piping.

(34)         “Mechanical assembly” means the work necessary to establish or restore a pressure retaining boundary whereby pressure retaining capability is established through a mechanical, chemical, or physical interface.

(35)     “Mechanical repair” means a method of repair which restores a pressure retaining boundary to a safe and satisfactory operating condition, where the pressure retaining boundary is established by a method other than welding or brazing.

(36)     “Miniature boiler” means a power boiler that does not have any of the following:

(a)     An inside diameter of the shell of more than 16 inches.

(b)     A working pressure of more than 100 psig.

(c)     A gross volume of more than 5 cubic feet.

(d)    More than 20 square feet of heating surface.

(37)      “Miniature locomotive boiler” means a miniature hobby steam locomotive boiler which operates on a narrow gauge track that is less than 24 inches wide and which is for public display or use.

(38)       “Modular boiler” means a steam or hot-water heating assembly consisting of a grouping of individual boilers called modules, intended to be installed as a unit, with a single inlet and a single outlet. Modules may be under 1 jacket or may be individually jacketed.

(39)     “NBIC” means national board inspection code.

(40)         “New boiler” means a boiler constructed, installed, placed in operation, or contracted for after July 1, 1966.

(41)         “Nonstandard boiler” means a boiler that does not bear the national board stamping or the stamp of any state or political subdivision which has adopted a standard of construction equivalent to that required by the board of boiler rules.

(42)       “Owner or user” means a person, firm, partnership, or corporation that owns or operates a boiler within this state.

(43)        “Out-of-use boiler” means a boiler not ready for use having the fuel supply, electricity, and all piping that may pressurize the boiler disconnected.

(44)     “Portable boiler” means a boiler which is primarily intended for temporary location and which is, by its construction and usage, obviously portable.

(45)      “Pressure-retaining items” means any boiler, pressure vessel, piping, or material used for the containment of pressure, either internal or external. The pressure may be obtained from an external source, or by the application of heat from a direct source, or any combination thereof.

(46)     “Reinstalled boiler” means a boiler which is removed from its original setting and which is reinstalled at the same location or reinstalled at a new location.

(47)      “Reinstatement” means the granting of a license or registration, with or without limitations or conditions, to a person whose license or registration has been suspended by the chief inspector.

(48)     “Rental boiler” means a boiler which is in temporary use for not more than 1 year and which may or may not be installed inside a boiler room, temporary room, or temporary shed or without external covering.

(49)      “Repair” means the work necessary to restore a boiler or its piping to a safe and satisfactory operating condition.

(50)      “Safe point of discharge” means a point of discharge that will protect personnel and property from injury due to discharge.

(51)       “Special inspector” means a boiler inspector who holds a license in the state of Michigan pursuant to 1965 PA 290, MCL 408.751 to 408.776 and who is regularly employed by an insurance company authorized to insure against a loss from boiler accidents in this state or by any city that is exempt under the act and has an authorized boiler inspection department.

(52)       “Standard boiler” means a boiler that bears the stamp of the national board of boiler and pressure vessel inspectors or of another state or political subdivision which has adopted a standard of construction equivalent to that required by the board of boiler rules of this state.

(53)     “Traction boiler” means a boiler designed for the express purpose of pulling farm equipment or to convert steam power into flywheel energy driving farm apparatus such as threshers, saws, or grinding equipment.

(54)     “Used boiler” means a boiler that is being reinstalled by the same owner.

(55)     “Water heater” means a heater for use in commercial or industrial sizes providing corrosion resistance for supplying potable hot water at pressures not exceeding 160 psi or temperatures not exceeding 210 degrees Fahrenheit. A water heater that does not exceed any of the following is exempt from these rules:

(a)     A heat input of more than 200,000 BTU per hour.

(b)     A water temperature of more than 210 degrees Fahrenheit.

(c)     A nominal water-containing capacity of more than 120 gallons.

(56)     Terms defined in the act have the same meanings when used in these rules.

History: 1998-2000 AACS; 2002 AACS; 2006 AACS; 2009 AACS; 2013 AACS.