PLANNING, INSTALLATION, AND PROCUREMENT OF MEDICAL GAS AND VACUUM INSTALLATIONS
Have we ever considered finding a suitable installer who truly understands and possesses the qualifications required to meet the standards for medical gas and vacuum installation systems for all types of healthcare facilities? Are all medical gas and vacuum installers capable of planning medical gas and vacuum installation systems?
The planning of medical gas and vacuum installations in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and so on is still largely entrusted to the medical gas and vacuum installers themselves. If we calculate how many healthcare facilities in Indonesia still entrust the planning of their medical gas and vacuum installation systems to installers, the answer is almost 90% of the total number of healthcare facilities already using medical gas and vacuum installations.
Why is this happening? It turns out that many healthcare facilities are aware that healthcare facility building planning consultants in Indonesia still rely heavily on medical gas and vacuum installation equipment providers, who also act as installers to install the equipment, resulting in a medical gas and vacuum installation system within the healthcare facility.
Can this be considered incorrect from a technical standpoint and in terms of medical gas and vacuum installation guidelines?
There are several positives to be drawn from the method described above. This is especially true if the healthcare facility and the healthcare facility planner truly find a medical gas and vacuum installation company that is truly trustworthy and has sufficient work experience. Furthermore, the company is well-known in the healthcare facility's location.
What about the negatives? To explain this, we must be very careful in our writing, sentence by sentence. Based on the scientific background, there is no specific field of study for medical gas and vacuum installation systems, unlike civil engineering, which focuses solely on building and construction.
Electrical engineering studies high currents, which can also be applied in healthcare facilities. Electronics engineering studies low currents, which are definitely needed in healthcare facilities.
Mechanical engineering studies transport equipment, pumping systems, water and heating units. Electromedical engineering produces personnel capable of maintaining, servicing, and repairing medical equipment. Based on this overview, which field of study is capable of effectively planning medical gas and vacuum installations?
The author explored several syllabi and curricula at higher education institutions in Indonesia and found that the curriculum and syllabus strongly support both the planning and testing of medical gas and vacuum installations.
Within the curriculum and syllabus, students are required to achieve learning outcomes such as understanding and explaining the classification of pipe types, components, and accessories; understanding and explaining pipe codes, standards, and requirements for piping installations; understanding, explaining, and analyzing various connections in piping installations and their requirements;
explaining the use of pipe schedules and pipe classes for metallic and non-metallic pipes; designing piping installations by considering pipe connection types, branch connection types, symbols, and piping codes for vibrations; designing design criteria, non-straight/curved pipe lengths (including offset curves, runs, and travelers), mitered pipes, pipe supports, static and dynamic supports; analyzing pipe stress analysis, pipe flexibility, fabrication, assembly, and installation.
In addition, students are able to explain and draw piping diagrams, piping installation symbols, and explain and draw line diagrams and isometric diagrams of piping system installations. There is also material on piping system design, which is the design of a system used to transport fluids between equipment from one place to another so that the production process can take place.
The results above indicate that the existing higher education syllabus and curriculum in Indonesia that are most appropriate for the planning and installation of medical gas and vacuum installations for healthcare facilities or hospitals in Indonesia are those from Mechanical Engineering.
This illustrates that the expertise needed for the planning and installation of medical gas and vacuum piping systems, as well as determining the capacity of medical gas installation sources or central medical gas installations, requires a mechanical engineer, particularly in the field of energy conversion piping.
The author also attempted to communicate directly with the Mechanical Engineering academic community at one of the universities in Indonesia, and concluded that this field of study strongly supports the planning and installation of medical gas installations in healthcare facilities or hospitals.
One aspect of the syllabus and curriculum analysis that also supports the planning and installation of medical gas installations was material selection, often known as metallurgy. This curriculum is also included in the Mechanical Engineering syllabus.
From the description above, we can conclude that if we need to plan a medical gas installation in a healthcare facility or hospital, in addition to an experienced company, we must determine whether they have experts in their field.
Therefore, if a hospital wants a high-quality medical gas installation that meets standards and also requires clarity and information regarding proper planning in accordance with the principles of partnership planning in mechanical engineering theory, then such an expert is needed. And it's not just about obtaining information based solely on experience or specific product brands.
Why does the author say this? Because if a product's superiority is used, marketing theory is used, not compliance with planning standards.
The author again tried to communicate with several companies providing medical gas and vacuum installations, and almost 90% of them did not have mechanical engineering experts. So who does the planning? The planning is generally done by people experienced in medical gas installation and proficient in Autocad software. The selection of pipe sizes is based on experience working in medical gas installations.
This can be detrimental to healthcare facilities or hospitals. Why? Because planning is related to the results of testing the medical gas installation work. Good and proper planning has several criteria, which we will discuss in another article.
We hope this information is helpful and can be considered by healthcare facilities or hospitals when selecting planners and implementers of medical gas and vacuum installation work. And the author sincerely hopes that higher education, particularly in Mechanical Engineering, can further assist the healthcare sector by introducing piping planning for medical gas installations in every hospital.
This Q&A forum regarding Medical Gas Installations will hopefully become a forum and platform for all healthcare professionals in Indonesia.
https://t.me/instalasigasmedis
