ELECTRICAL SAFETY


TIMO OHTONEN – THE MANAGING DIRECTOR, PPO-ELEKTRONIIKKA OY, FINLAND; GOPA KUMAR – MEMBER OF IEC MAINTENANCE TEAM 40 (STANDARD IEC 60364-7-710, MEDICAL ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS)


Importance of electrical safety in critical care


Timo Ohtonen, managing director and owner of the Finnish health tech company PPO-Elektroniikka Oy, and Gopa Kumar, member of IEC Maintenance Team 40 (standard IEC 60364-7-710, medical electrical installations), discuss the continuing importance of electrical safety within Group 2 healthcare facilities, with reference to examples in India and Ukraine.


In the IFHE Digest 2024, we contributed an article highlighting electrical safety within Group 2 healthcare facilities, with a particular focus on medical IT systems that employ insulation monitoring devices (IMD). That article provided international examples from India, Malaysia, and the UK, and emphasised that global safety measures are now being developed by increasing awareness of patient safety and prioritising its improvement. We concluded that legislation, enforcement, and proper commissioning inspections are vital in ensuring compliance with standards – not only to save lives but also to reduce costly outages and inefficiencies in operating theatres. The core message remains just as


relevant today: electricity is an invisible hazard, but with modern monitoring systems, training, and preparedness, its risks can be effectively controlled at relatively low cost. The lifecycle of an insulation monitoring system can exceed 30 years, making it both a technical and an economic solution.


Country perspectives on Group 2 electrical safety


In this article, we revisit the subject from two very different perspectives. We focus on India, where significant efforts have been made to enhance electrical safety in medical environments. Mr Gopa Kumar, President of the National Federation of Engineers for Electrical Safety, has prepared this section. We also present a


brief yet highly topical perspective from Ukraine, where hospitals have struggled to remain operational amid the prolonged conflict. Before 2022,


IFHE DIGEST 2026


Across the world, Group 2 facilities such as operating theatres highlight the universal challenge of electrical safety in healthcare – where even brief interruptions or faults can have life-critical consequences.


Ukraine had already begun modernising its medical infrastructure; since then, hospitals have been forced to develop temporary solutions such as operating theatres in bomb shelters.


Taken together, these examples Timo Ohtonen


Timo Ohtonen is the managing director and owner of the Finnish health tech company PPO-Elektroniikka Oy. Timo was one of the founders in 1981. Together with his team, he has developed five generations of the MEV®


experience in safety electronics and electrical safety. PPO-Elektroniikka Oy is a member of the Association of Finnish Hospital Engineering.


Gopa Kumar Gopa Kumar is the National President of the National


Federation of Engineers for Electrical Safety, a not-for- profit organisation working on awareness and skill


development programmes on electrical safety. He is also a member of ETD 20 of the Bureau of Indian Standards (committee responsible for standards such as NEC of India 2023, IS732, IS 3043; IS 17512 etc.) and a member of MT 40 of IEC TC 64


(responsible for the maintenance of IEC 60364-7-710;


Low-voltage electrical installations – Requirements for special installations or locations – Medical locations).


illustrate the diversity of conditions under which healthcare facilities must operate, yet also the universality of the challenge. Electrical safety in Group 2 locations remains a common challenge globally and knowledge must continue to be shared across borders.


Insulation Monitoring System. He has vast


Electrical safety in Group 2 medical locations Group 2 medical locations are the most critical hospital environments – operating theatres, intensive care units, and other areas where medical devices are directly connected to the heart or other vital organs. Even momentary interruptions in electricity supply, or minor leakage currents, can put patients and staff at immediate risk. Currents as low as 10 mA may cause


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