Round-the-clock licensed coverage is required by law — and increasingly impossible to hire for. There is a state-approved program that keeps a qualifying plant compliant without carrying a full on-site rotation. We built the first one in Minnesota.
In Minnesota, any high-pressure boiler plant above 500 State HP must be attended around the clock by licensed operating engineers — roughly five licensed positions, staffed 24/7/365. Those licenses are scarce, the workforce is aging out, and a single unfilled seat means mandatory overtime and compliance exposure. For most plants, the hard part isn’t the boiler — it’s keeping the rotation filled.
That coverage problem has an approved solution — with zero capital.
Note: carrying a full 24/7 licensed rotation is a standing commitment of roughly five fully-burdened positions — before recruiting, turnover, and overtime. We model what that looks like for your specific facility as part of the conversation.
This is coverage, not a headcount cut. It fills a requirement you are already struggling to staff — it does not replace the operators you have. For a facility that cannot hire licensed engineers into open seats, it turns an impossible mandate into a solved problem, and takes the overtime and compliance pressure off the team you’ve kept.
Minnesota Rule 5225.1180 permits a qualifying plant to operate under an approved remote monitoring program — continuous monitoring by a licensed operating engineer with a single daily on-site observation — in place of constant attendance. This is a compliance pathway the state created, applied with qualifying equipment. Trap Energy built Minnesota’s first and only approved plant of this kind and holds the exclusive Minnesota territory for the equipment platform that qualifies a large facility. The equipment is an implementation detail; the coverage is the point.
Where a plant qualifies, coverage can go one step further. Trap built Minnesota’s first and only approved Unoccupied Boiler Plant — high-pressure steam with no on-site licensed operator required. See how the Unoccupied Boiler Plant provision works →
If keeping licensed operators in the rotation is a constant fight, let’s talk. We’ll tell you honestly whether your plant qualifies for the approved coverage program — no assessment required to start.
Start the conversation →or call (612) 682-8727
This page describes a compliance pathway established by the State of Minnesota (Minn. R. 5225.1180) applied with qualifying equipment; it is not a workaround. Trap Energy Solutions — Veteran-Owned. Minnesota’s first and only approved Unoccupied Boiler Plant.
