Healthcare
www.heatingandventilating.net
Smart monitoring eliminates human error
Combating risk of infection is more pertinent in hospitals and healthcare buildings than anywhere else and crucial in that fight is maintaining safe water temperature. However, many hospitals rely on a manual method of water temperature monitoring. Here, David Meacock, technical director at Cistermiser Keraflo, discusses how the integration of smart technology hugely reduces risk by eliminating human error
T
o maintain safe water temperature, outside the so-called ‘danger zones’ in which bacteria can thrive, the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) recommends that a building’s system water temperature is continuously monitored, recorded and analysed for discrepancies. Where the water has reached dangerous temperatures, appropriate action must be taken to subvert the risk of a bacterial infection, such as legionella. This is more important in healthcare settings
than anywhere else, where an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease could swiftly lead to multiple deaths. L8, the Approved Code of Practice and guidance published by the HSE, states that all duty- holders, including employers, those in control of premises and those with health and safety responsibilities for others, have a responsibility to manage and prevent the onset of Legionnaires’ disease as a result of legionella contamination of a building’s water.
Legionella bacteria breed and multiply in water
temperatures between 20 and 45 degrees centigrade; therefore, maintaining water temperature outside of these parameters seems the most discernible method through which risk can be significantly reduced. The challenge faced by those responsible for building management systems is the time, money and resource required to consistently monitor and record a building’s water temperature. The current method usually requires estates
personnel to tour the site, turn taps on and off, take a temperature reading and input the data into
whichever recording system the hospital uses. Even electronic systems still require manual temperature checks and rely on someone accurately inputting and analysing the data. However, with the NHS facing an
unprecedented demand on its services, and staffing issues becoming increasingly critical, most hospitals do not have the resources to send someone round to take readings as often and accurately as required.
This challenge presents an opportunity for H&V specialists to upsell a brand new solution that utilises smart technology and the ‘Internet of Things’, which has revolutionised the way in which data can be monitored, recorded and analysed. Cistermiser Keraflo is offering a product that
can help. LinkThru is a monitoring system, developed in partnership with ‘IoT’ specialist SPICA Technologies, that automatically checks the water temperature and flow activity in pipework systems, transmitting the results into the cloud for users to access remotely from a computer, tablet or smartphone. Alarms are raised when a risk is detected, therefore time-consuming data analysis is not
David Meacock
required. The ability to automatically record and analyse the data eliminates the risk of producing inaccurate data that is reliant on a person to read the temperature, take conscientious notes and compile a date-specific report. The LinkThru temperature-monitoring unit (TMU) is a small black box simply and easily fixed to a water pipe anywhere in the water system using small clamps, eliminating the need for a person to take the recording themselves. The device takes a temperature reading every 10 seconds, transmitting the data into a ‘cloud’ database that users can access at any time. Users will only receive a notification from the system if it detects a discrepancy in water temperature or flow event beyond pre- defined limits.
22 May 2018
www.heatingandventilating.net
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