LETTER: The palm oil industry is one of the contributors to the country's revenue. Each year, the estimated revenue generated by the palm oil industry is either directly or indirectly between RM20 to RM30 billion.
I have served as an assistant manager of a palm oil mill in Johor, Selangor and Sabah that provided me the opportunities to see the work of processing palm bunches to crude palm oil.
After serving for almost four years, I was offered a job in a government department. Among the tasks carried out thus far are security audits, as well as inspections of factories and machinery involved in this industry.
The palm oil industry has undergone some changes from the use of new technologies and increased awareness of compliance, especially involving the environment, safety and occupational health.
The most important machinery in an oil palm mill is a boiler which is likened to the heart of a mill. Boilers are used to produce hot steam for cooking palm fruit and moving turbines to generate electricity for the plant.
When I worked in Johor back then, boiler operation control was not fully automatic. Imagine the water entering the boiler was manually controlled, where the water pump was turned on or off and the valve was manually controlled to ensure that the water in the boiler was always at a safe level.
If the boiler operator fell asleep or was unconscious in split second, the operation of the boiler could be under threat.
The boiler control of the boiler also used the manual method with the iron was inserted to stir the fuel. Clinkers formed during the combustion process had to be pulled using the manual method.
While working in Selangor, there was a change in boiler operation when an automated system was used to control the water level in the boiler and put fuel into the boiler stove.
Nowadays, moving fire grate is built on the boiler stove to make it easier for clinkers to be removed without using manual methods. The control room is also equipped with air conditioning to provide comfort to the boiler staff.
There is no more need for workers to undress because the boiler stove are not heat resistant and their safety is also guaranteed. Therefore, long-term exposure to hot temperatures is avoidable.
Officers also do not have to worry about monitoring the water level in the boiler as everything operates automatically.
Anyway, despite leaving the palm oil industry for almost 12 years, the experience gained while serving in this field is unforgettable.
Looking back during my time in the government departments when I conducted inspections at several factories throughout the country. that was an opportunity to see a variety of different designs and operations.
I believe many more palm oil technologies can be explored especially involving renewable energy.
Ir AZMAN
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
