Optimizing Aging Equipment in a Healthcare Facility with Improved Supplier Support

Addressing aging equipment upgrades by partnering with contractors maintaining the old

A hospital is a complex facility.  Pile on issues such as an aging facility with aging equipment, difficulty finding a properly skilled manager, deferred maintenance on major equipment, limited capital expenditure budgets and the challenge of proactive planning equipment upgrades or replacements….and the complex can seem impossible.  

Since most hospitals are part of a healthcare system even more factors affect the complexity:  mergers and acquisitions, dispersed care creating many more off campus buildings, those additional buildings now require someone to manage them.  What was the impossible now forces you to address this dilemma.  The status quo model is unsustainable.

As you address a comprehensive approach in creating a best-in-class facility management platform, don’t overlook one potential solution of developing partnerships with your valued suppliers.  Consider those who are contracted for maintenance of your mechanical systems, for testing of your emergency power system, for repairs and maintenance on the elevators, or for testing and repairs of the fire alarm system.   These suppliers may have a better perspective on prioritizing the equipment in one building compared to another, no matter which internal technicians or managers are responsible for the building.  If you have 20 air handling units in one building, for example, and 16 in a separate facility-your mechanical contracting partner should be able to prioritize which of the 36 total need to be replaced, giving you an idea of where the most urgent need is.  

Your suppliers most likely have the staff capable of assessing the condition of the equipment, understanding both the equipment risk and the failure risk.  They will often know if equipment serves a life safety branch or not.  The risk should be based on location of the equipment and the area it serves.  

Beneficial to the process is developing a common nomenclature for the classification of each type of equipment.  Your suppliers may have existing notations which you can apply, or together you can develop the list that works best for all your facilities.