NESCE: Meticulousness is key to equipment planning
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Having overseen numerous projects for Hartford Health, McGeary stressed seeking input from all hospital stakeholders before going through with a department overhaul or construction of a new building. There are three important steps in the process of planning and implementation: concept, schematic design and construction documents, she said.
Equipment planners can’t overlook anything. They need to consider the workflow of various departments, as well as their equipment needs, and ensure that everything needed by various personnel will be accessible. Those specifications will vary based on the department.
For example, “if you’re planning cardiac care, your needs will be different than building an emergency department,” she said.
Starting with a concept, a preliminary budget is critical to obtaining financial approval from administrators and determination for a certificate of need. The budget will be based upon discussions with administrators and the project vision, and then it will either be approved or put on hold. The considerations have to include equipment needs; however, vendors are usually decided later in the process, said McGeary. Planning also requires specifying who is going to install everything: whether it’s vendor installed, owner installed, or contractor installed.
A schematic design should be based on clinical workflow and room placement. Equipment lists will become more definitive as the process continues—for example, the number of workstations required. It’s important to think of hospital services such as food, laundry, and environmental services, as well. Even a television requires significant planning—such as wall mounts, weight, location, and power requirements, she noted. If a patient wants a pillow speaker, that needs to be considered during construction so that a junction box can be installed near the patient bed. “If you leave something like that out of the plan, you need to have a contractor come back to run a conduit,” she said.
“As the equipment plan evolves, you need to be aware of your original budget, and consider how changes will affect the timeline.”
A critical step in the process of planning is building a mock-up room, which will contain all the devices, outlets, power sources and expected features, to find any errors in design, McGeary said.
Finally, the equipment planner is responsible for getting final quotes and holding contractors to them. Compare quotes against the fixed budget and coordinate the installation of fixed equipment with vendor and construction teams, she recommended. Incorporate all equipment lead times into the project schedule and identify potential problems.
“Any changes need to be communicated to the project team to assess the impact—on budget and time—of late requested design changes. You really want to be involved from head to toe,” she said.
Among the tips to take away, McGeary noted being meticulous, maintaining strong communication, establishing mock-up rooms, being the liaison between hospital groups and contractors, and standardizing equipment.
The symposium was sponsored by the New England Society of Clinical Engineering.