Boiler Plant Operator

Summary

The two Boiler Plant Operator positions are in the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Section of the Facilities Management Service Line, at the VHA Connecticut Healthcare System, (1) Position located at the West Haven Campus and (1) Position at the Newington Campus.

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Duties

Duties: The incumbent is responsible for the safe and efficient operation, repairs, lubrication, and adjustment of the Boiler Plant equipment. The equipment maintained and operated consists of three water tube high pressure steam boilers in the central heating plant. In addition, the Boiler Plant has hot water generators and pumps that generate and circulate hot water for domestic use; a heating system for Buildings 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; and a pumping system for pumping city water to the receiving tanks. The incumbent is responsible for the operation and maintenance of this equipment while on duty, The three oil/gas fire boilers are rated at 31,000 lbs. steam per hour and are automatically controlled by I combustion equipment, which consists of air fuel ratio controls, inlet and outlet controls.

In addition to the above responsibilities, the incumbent will also be required to:

• Monitor and operate the air conditioning plant.
• Operate the Boiler Plant in a safe and economical manner to provide a continuous supply of steam to the station; and adjust combustion controls, and other controls when necessary.
• Maintain log sheets by gathering operating data such as feedwater temperature boiler pressure. Make regular water tests and treats boiler feedwater with chemicals as required.
• Perform preventive maintenance such as lubrication, adjustment, minor parts replacement, and necessary minor repairs designed to keep plant and equipment in good operating condition.
• Perform general maintenance such as lubrication, adjustment, minor parts replacement, and necessary minor repairs designed to keep plant and equipment in good operating condition.
• Perform other duties as assigned: miscellaneous painting of equipment and utility lines, general cleaning of the boilers, equipment, utility lines, general areas, etc.
• Monitors and place request, to the Utility Systems Supervisor, for fuel oil as needed during the heating season.
• Incumbent has direct contact with vendors for all materials, supplies and fuels required to maintain the Boiler Plant; and as required, will initiate requests to the Utilities Systems Supervisor.
• On occasion, shift coverage is such that two boiler plant operators are on the day shift. When required, one Boiler Plant operator will be detailed to the HVAC Shop or Mechanical Maintenance Shop for maintenance and repair work throughout the facility.
• Maintains and updates preventive maintenance procedure and inspections on a recurring basis for all equipment related to the Boiler Plant per VHA Directive 2003-050.
• When required on other than normal working hours of Facilities Management Service (FMS) staff, the incumbent will receive emergency calls and will dispatch them to appropriate individuals as instructed by the Chief of FMS and outlined in FMS emergency call back procedures.
  
  

Work Schedule: Full-Time (40 Hours Per Week), Various Shifts Available.

Position Description Title/PD#: Boiler Plant Operator/PD03075A

Physical Requirements: Incumbent must be physically able to do a considerable amount of walking, standing, climbing ladders and stairs, crawling inside of tight spaces such as boilers, and heavy lifting. Must be able to work in bent, prone or crouched positions; must have good or corrected eye sight for observing water columns and gauges; must have good hearing for detecting noises that would indicate trouble with boilers, A/C chiller and auxiliary equipment.



NOTE:

• These are Bargaining Unit Positions
• These Positions are in the Competitive Service.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• Veterans' preference in hiring does not apply when selecting individuals under VA's Direct Hire Authority. When hiring under Direct Hire Authority, the law allows selecting officials to hire applicants without regard to 5 U.S.C. 3309-3318, which eliminates the requirement for applying Veterans' preference. VA HR Offices may assess and select any qualified applicant in the order applicants are received.
  
  

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  
  

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards.

SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements:

• Ability to Do the Work of the Position without More Than Normal Supervision
• Dexterity and Safety
• Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair
• Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading)
• Measuring Instruments
• Operation of Equipment/Machinery
• Technical Practices
  
  
  
  

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.



Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Skills and Knowledge Required by the Positions:

The incumbent must have a journeyman's knowledge of the operation and maintenance of high pressure boilers and their auxiliary equipment and controls. Specifically, they must be familiar with performing the following functions:

• Must be familiar with pneumatic and direct digital controls and their operation on equipment used in boiler controls.
• Must have knowledge of boiler construction and know the characteristics of all associated boiler equipment.
• Must know how to start up idle boilers and equipment so as to get them operational in emergency situations in a timely manner.
• Must know how to take samples of the boiler feed water and test them for the proper level of chemical additives.
• Must know how to adjust the level of the chemicals that are fed into the boiler water to achieve the proper operating levels based upon the results of these tests.
• Must know how to switch from operation on natural gas, the primary fuel, to fuel oil and back again.
• Must have knowledge of sounding fuel oil tanks, receiving deliveries of oil, and putting information in the log book.
• Must know the techniques for lining up fuel oil systems to take action from the fuel tanks, and the procedures for shifting fuel oil from one tank to another.
• Must have a working knowledge of plumbing, steam fitting and electricity.
• Must be intimately familiar with the proper lock out/tag out systems that are used on the boilers to isolate all the various energy sources while working on boiler and equipment maintenance.
• Must have the ability to interpret drawings, manuals and technical guides, and lay out work as necessary.
• Must have a journeyman's knowledge of the operation and maintenance of high pressure boilers ad their auxiliary equipment and controls.
• Must be able to use the proper tools for boiler and associated equipment maintenance, including the instrumentation used to measure or rectify a situation to keep boilers and equipment operating in a safe and proper manner.
• Must be able to perform minor repairs and make adjustments to instruments so as to operate in a safe and efficient manner.
• Must be physically capable of lifting of up to 50 pounds is required as is the ability to walk and climb stairs as a great amount of the time required to conduct readings on equipment throughout all levels of the boiler plant.
  
  

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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• Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  
  

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

West Haven VA Medical Center

950 Campbell Avenue

West Haven, CT 06516

US