(1)Every plant or machinery used in a factory and operated at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure shall be-(a)of good construction, sound material, adequate strength and free from any patent defect;(b)properly maintained in a safe condition;(c)fitted with-(i)a suitable safety valve or other effective device to ensure that a maximum permissible working pressure of the vessel shall not be exceeded;(ii)a suitable pressure gauge easily visible and designed to show at all times the correct internal pressure in lbs. per square inch, or in kilogram per square centimetre, and marked with a prominent red mark at the safe working pressure of the vessel;(iii)a suitable stop valve or valves by which the vessel may be isolated from other vessels or source of supply of pressure; and(iv)a suitable drain cock or valves at the lowest part of the vessel for the discharge of collected liquid.(d)thoroughly examined by a competent person :-(i)externally once in every period of six months;(ii)internally, once in every period of twelve months :Provided that if by reason of design, construction and use of the vessel a thorough internal examination is not possible, this examination may be replaced by a hydraulic test which shall be carried out once in every two years in case of vessels not in continuous processes and once in every four years in case of vessels in continuous processes; and(iii)Hydraulically tested at intervals of not more than four years :Provided that in respect of pressure vessels within walls such as, sizing cylinders made of copper or any other non-ferrous metal periodic hydraulic test may be dispensed with on condition that the requirements laid down in sub-rule (5) are fulfilled:Provided further that it shall be sufficient for the purposes of clause (c) of this Rule if the safety valve, pressure gauge and stop valve are mounted on a pipe line immediately adjacent to the vessel and where there is a range of two or more similar vessels in a plant served by the same pressure lead, only one set of such mountings need be fitted in case they cannot be isolated.(2)The requirements of this Rule shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the requirements of any other Act, Rules or regulations in force.(3)Nothing in this Rule shall apply to-(a)any vessel which comes within the scope of the Indian Boiler Act, 1923 (V of 1923),(b)metal bottles or cylinders used for the storage or transport of compressed gases or liquefied or dissolved gases under pressure covered by the Gas Cylinder Rules, 1940 framed under the Indian Explosives Act, 1884 (IV of 1884);(c)feed pumps, steam traps, turbine casings, compressor, cylinders, cylinders of prime-movers, steam separators or dryers, steam strainers, steam de-superheater, oil separators, air receivers for fire sprinklers installations, air receivers of monotype machines, provided the maximum working pressure of the air receiver does not exceed 20 lbs. per square inch and capacity, does not exceed 3 cubic feet, air receivers of electrical circuit breakers, air receivers of electrical relays, air vessels on pumps, pipe coils, accessories of instruments and appliances, such as cylinders and piston assemblies used for operating relays and interlocking type of guards, vessels with liquids subject to static head only and hydraulically operating cylinders other than any communicating with an air loaded accumulator, and(d)Water sealed gas-holder mentioned in Rule 57-A.Note. - For the purposes of this Rule, the expression-(a) "thin walled vessels,"means vessel incapable of holding weight of water;(b)"competent person" means a person holding any of qualifications exempting him from passing Parts A and B of the Associate Membership Examination of the Institution of Engineers (India) or any other person whom the Chief Inspector considers competent for any specified purpose by virtue of his experience; and(c)"vessel" means an enclosed vessel of any capacity and include any other plant or machinery working at a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure.(4)(a)In respect of pressure vessels of thin walls such as sizing cylinders made of copper or any other non-ferrous metal the safe working pressure shall be reduced at the rate of five percent of the original working pressure for every year and no such cylinder shall be continued to be used for more than twenty years after it was first taken into use.(b)If no information as to the date of construction, thickness of walls and safe working pressure is available, the age of the sizing cylinder shall be determined by the competent person in consultation with the Chief Inspector from any other particulars available with the manager.(c)Every new and second hand cylinder of thin walls to which rapairs which may effect its safety, have been carried out, shall be tested before use, to at least one and a half times its working pressure.(5)Every vessel operated at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, and not so constructed as to withstand with safety the maximum permissible working pressure at the source of supply, or the maximum pressure which can be. obtained in the pipe connecting the vessel with any other source of supply shall be fitted with a suitable reducing valve or other suitable automatic device to prevent the safe working pressure of the vessel being exceeded.(6)In a plant in which owing to the nature of the process or the action of the contents of the vessel, a pressure gauge or safety valve or both cannot work reliably, a tested and reliable working thermometer with a sufficiently large scale, on which shall be clearly marked the maximum permissible temperature in the vessel, or barometers or rupture dices in addition to the pressure gauge and safety valve shall be fitted.(7)If during thorough examination any doubt arises as to the capacity of a vessel to work safely until the next examination, provided for in these Rules, the competent person shall enter in the prescribed register his observation and remark with reasons and may authorise the vessel to work further, subject to a lowering of pressure or to more frequent inspection or subject to both these conditions.(8)No vessel which has undergone alterations or repairs shall be put to use unless it is thoroughly examined by competent person.(9)A report of the result of every examination, made shall be completed in Form 8 and signed by the person making the examination, and shall be kept available for perusal by an Inspector at any time while the vessel is in service.(10)No vessel which has previously been used shall be taken into use in any factory for the first time in a factory until it has been examined and reported in accordance with these Rules and no new vessel shall be taken into use unless there has been obtained from the maker of the vessel, or from a competent person, a certificate specifying the maximum permissible working pressure thereof, and stating the nature of the tests to which the vessel and its fittings (if any) have been subjected and certificate is kept available for perusal by an Inspector and vessel is so marked as to enable it to be identified with the certificate relating to the same.(11)Where the report of any examination under these Rules specified conditions for securing the safe working of a vessel, the vessel shall not be used except in accordance with those conditions.(12)The competent person making the report of any examination under this Rule shall within seven days of the completion of the examination send to the Inspector a copy of the report in every case where the maximum permissible working pressure is reduced, or where the examination shows that the plant cannot continue to be used with safety unless certain repairs are carried out immediately or within a specified time.(13)Where there are more than one pressure plants or vessels in a factory each such plant or vessel should be given a distinctive number.(14)The Chief Inspector may, by an order in writing, exempt, subject to such conditions as he may specify, from any of the provisions of this Rule any pressure vessel or pressure plant if he is satisfied that such provision need not be applied in consideration of the special nature of its construction or use of any other matter. Such orders may at any time be revoked by the Chief Inspector without assigning any reason.
