VENTILATION SYSTEMS
health estates managers know exactly what they expect from their HVAC service and maintenance providers, and produce their own playbooks outlining not just procedures, but also their expectations. These often include their service and maintenance provider aligning with their own corporate values, including environmental strategies. Routine inspections will ensure that
Aermec says consideration should also be given to remote but regular monitoring of major plant such as chillers and heat pumps by service-providers, which will help provide an early warning of issues that could result in a failure.
to pass through HEPA filters, but can be targeted effectively through air-purifying devices. By integrating a UV lamp within the fan coil, viruses including COVID and SARS were proven to be broken down biologically, and that changing a building’s operation reduces the risk of pathogen transmission.
Fan coil units able to destroy pathogens Padua University’s Department of Microbiology and the University of Camerino’s Department of Chemistry and School of Pharmacy subsequently carried out tests that showed that the technological core of Aermec’s FCZ-H fan coil units was capable of destroying pathogens without compromising the heating or cooling capabilities of the unit. Environmental issues were addressed by reducing the power consumption down to 4 W, and avoiding the use of refrigerants in indoor ambient temperatures. In Wales, the HTM acknowledges that healthcare estates have an important contribution to make in reducing running costs and improving energy efficiency while assisting the NHS to meet the necessary reductions in carbon emissions and climate mitigation. Scotland has a similar technical memorandum, to ensure appropriate healthcare-specific engineering governance that provides for the safe and efficient operation of healthcare facilities. It also requires a PPM programme led by manufacturers, and, in the absence of this, a programme is required to be drawn up, while a set of procedures should be created to cover each critical engineering service. It stresses the need for planned maintenance, so that any piece of equipment or plant is out of service for as short a time as possible. There are six health and social care
Trusts in Northern Ireland that come under the Health and Social Care (HSC) body. The NHS has a target of reaching
52 Health Estate Journal May 2024
NHS Zet Zero by 2045. NHS England and Scotland have announced that they aim to achieve Net Zero by 2045, while Wales has committed to a 34% reduction by 2030. Improving the HVAC infrastructure is a significant contributor to reaching those goals.
Northern Ireland has yet to set a target, but its Climate Change Act 2022 sets a target of at least a 100% reduction in Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Estates managers are responsible for the implementation of the programmes of inspection, audits, and repairs of their entire estate. This includes repair of buildings, mechanical and electrical engineering installations (HVAC), and regular reviews to ensure efficacy and compliance. The very nature of healthcare estates means they are critical facilities. The COVID pandemic had a significant impact over the last few years, and there are still persistent supply chain issues across the globe, but regular maintenance inspections and preventative measures minimise the risks of failures that could comprise a critical asset. No Estates or Facilities manager can afford to have their assets fail because they overlooked maintenance. The cost of an incident – be it interruption to power, or equipment overheating – can have serious implications. Maintenance programmes actively reduce the risks of reactive repairs and maintenance work that can affect a Trust’s operations.
Scheduled maintenance – an ‘insurance policy’ Scheduled maintenance programmes are essentially an insurance policy to reduce unscheduled equipment failure. While reactive maintenance can deliver a speedy but costly fix, a PPM in place can decrease the risks of assets failing and the knock-on consequences. It makes sense to have a plan in place which is reviewed every 12 months. Most
there are no issues before problems occur. Good maintenance not only provides security and reliability, but also establishes resiliency so that your estate can function as expected. HVAC assets – including air-handling units, chillers, heat pumps, condensers, and energy management systems, but also water quality and peripheral devices such as grilles and louvres – can be high-value, and a substantial investment. Estates managers look for longevity of products, which can only be achieved through a planned approach to their overall maintenance. Aside from the long-term financial benefits, supporting vital systems such as heating and cooling is fundamental.
Cooling It is imperative that chillers and air- handling units are not just correctly specified, but also commissioned as a system, and maintained to avoid equipment failure. Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) plans can mitigate disruptions and minimise operational, as well as financial, risks. As a mission-critical infrastructure, healthcare estates are reliant on reliable sources of power – consistent access to the national grid, with equipment able to handle any interruptions to power and water. Uninterrupted power supplies may comprise generators, batteries, and related switching equipment, but any built-in redundancy can be negated if due diligence is not deployed, and the equipment is not regularly monitored and tested.
Implementing a thorough maintenance
regime is crucial, and to acquire a comprehensive view of the estate’s landscape every aspect of the HVAC system should be covered.
Types of maintenance Maintenance can be broken down into three categories: n Scheduled maintenance. n Predictive maintenance. n Condition-based maintenance.
Many estates have further categories covering a wider range of equipment and facilities, such as Reactive Repairs Maintenance, whereby when faults are reported, these can be allocated a priority – from ‘routine’ to ‘urgent’. The former will usually attract a pre-set response time. Irregular or cyclical maintenance is carried out with already planned recurrent
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
