ANALYTICAL AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT 23
Fig. 2. The service end showing the autoclave and water softener in-situ.
through the wall or bulkhead.
A printer is essential to produce a permanent record of each autoclave cycle, whether an integral part of the autoclave system or a separate and independent chart recorder device. It is normally desirable for the operator unloading the autoclave to be able to examine the record before opening the autoclave. For this reason and the fact that it is often not permissible to remove a paper record from a containment area, the printer was put on the non-containment end of the autoclave.
point of passing through the wall by means of a bulkhead. Te integrity of the containment was improved by an air pressure differential between the rooms in which the autoclave is located. It is an essential requirement of BS2646 that double ended autoclaves have interlocks to prevent both doors being open at the same time as this would obviously breach the integrity of the site. Te interlock must also be present to prevent the door at the unloading end from being opened until the sterilisation cycle has been successfully completed and the load is safe to pass into the unloading end. It is also a requirement of BS2646 that it is not possible to release the loading door until the unloading door has been opened and subsequently closed and locked. However in this instance Brunel wanted the ability to open either door as long as the autoclave had finished and it was safe to do so. An added benefit, enabled by a programmable key lock facility, was the ability to use the autoclave as a single door autoclave at any end.
As Brunel’s autoclave was a containment suite autoclave, most of it was located within the unloading room with just the door section of the autoclave protruding into the containment area. Tis allowed the majority of the maintenance
tasks to be completed without the need for an engineer to enter the containment area or for the area to be decontaminated and temporarily
disabled. CDC were instructed to install the drains and services at this end, thus minimising the number of pipes and wires etc that need to pass
Priorclave designed and built the autoclave to the specifications requested by CDC and the end users at Brunel University and was delivered by a chosen delivery company who specialise in this type of project and who are used to handling equipment such as this and others that Priorclave manufacture.
Engineers were available on-site to take delivery just in case any difficulties were encountered. Te engineers installed and commissioned the autoclave over a couple of days and end users were given instructions on using the equipment. When the Brunel personnel were proficient, Priorclave engineers returned to Brunel University to test the autoclave with the actual loads and made adjustments to the autoclave and software to ensure optimum performance. Performance Testing was done to UKAS accreditation and a full report and certification was given to the University on completion.
Te autoclave is now serviced on a regular basis as stated in the extended warranty purchased within the purchase order.
Fig. 3. The service end showing the effluent retention filter protruding from the top and the TACTROL data print- out record on the right of the facia panel.
Enter 23 or ✔ at
www.scientistlive.com/elab Lee Oakley is Product Manager,
Priorclave Ltd, Woolwich, London, UK.
www.priorclave.co.uk
www.scientistlive.com
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