PNEUMATIC TUBE SYSTEMS
Raising the alarm on pneumatic tube systems
For many years, pneumatic tube systems (PTS) in hospitals have interfaced with local Building Management Systems (BMS) to relay fault warnings. However, there are now significant changes on the horizon. Having been involved in the design and delivery of PTS for the New Hospital Programme, Tom Hughes, managing director of Aerocom (UK) Ltd, looks at whether a more sophisticated approach to monitoring can actually change the way pneumatic tube systems are maintained.
Historically, most BMS (Building Management System) interfaces from a PTS (pneumatic tube system) have been relatively simple. A fault condition within the PTS control system operates a relay, providing an open or closed signal to the BMS. In practical terms, this is often little more than a two-core NO/NC cable connected to a warning lamp or monitoring system. The PTS identifies a fault, activates the relay, and the BMS receives the alarm. It works, but it provides very little information. The requirement for server-based PTS control systems capable of interfacing with the new generation of Command & Control Centre BMS servers introduces a completely different level of monitoring capability. The question is whether that additional information will actually improve the way faults are managed.
Computer-controlled systems Pneumatic tube systems have been used in hospitals for many years, historically beginning with very simple, single- line systems connecting two departments – for example, the Emergency Department (ED) and the laboratory. Things began to change in the early 1990s with the
development of microprocessor-based control systems. These allowed multiple user locations to be connected, with send-and-receive stations capable of transporting items – primarily samples – between different locations. The introduction of computer-based control systems took
this development a step further. Individual zones could now be interconnected, allowing hundreds of locations to form a single, integrated pneumatic tube network. The fundamental difference between operating a simple point-to-point system and a multi-station, multi-zone network lies in how carriers are routed. In a point-to-point system there is effectively only one route. The carrier and its contents remain within a single tube between two connected locations, so there is no possibility of the carrier being routed to the wrong destination. A multi-station system is very different. Carriers can
travel through a network of interconnected tubes and switching points, often passing through several zones before reaching their destination. Modern systems incorporate sophisticated tracking and
control technology, but a failure in tracking, identification, routing, or control could potentially result in a carrier intended for one destination being delivered to another location on the network. The control system therefore has to do more than simply move a carrier from A to B. It must know where the carrier is, where it is supposed to go, and whether it has actually arrived. When PTS software identifies a fault, it must react. Depending on the nature of the fault, the system may automatically attempt to recover, with additional functions available where required, or it may shut down the affected
Multi Zone pneumatic tube system.
Point to Point pneumatic tube system.
1. LAB
2. SAMPLE POINT
November 2026 Health Estate Journal 43
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