**2. Maintenance organization: objectives and responsibility for medical equipment**

In providing high-quality health services, medical equipment plays an essential role, because when the equipment is not used or properly maintained human damage can occur. In many situations, noncalibration, modification or repair of medical equipment by unqualified personnel can result in injury to the patient or loss of medical record. Preuse testing, preventative maintenance, malfunction reports (and incident reports) and repair procedures are just a few of the necessary actions prior to performing the medical act, to avoid injury caused by the use of medical equipment.

Even if the medical equipment used in the hospital is purchased, rented or borrowed, the commitment to safety is an essential element of any process related to the use of medical equipment. Proper maintenance and proper use of medical equipment ensures maximum efficiency and increased availability of equipment, at optimal costs and under satisfactory conditions of quality, safety and environmental protection [5].

In order to make the process of maintenance of the medical equipment more efficient, it is necessary to consider the use of a maintenance program of the equipment that takes into account its characteristics and the defects that appear to the medical equipment. The application of such a program of maintenance of medical equipment could be effective in applying correct maintenance strategies for the management of the older technological devices and the new high-tech devices, due to their different characteristics.

Maintenance was long considered as a subordinate function, entailing an inevitable waste of money. There was a tendency to lump it together with troubleshooting and repairing machinery that was subject to wear and obsolescence. However, hospitals today are realizing that maintenance is not merely a 'partner' in medical services: it is an indispensable requirement for quality medical services [6]. Its relation with equipment performance is a question of integrated strategy at senior management level. As such, the maintenance function becomes a management responsibility.

The structure that determines the goals and objectives of maintaining medical equipment is very important. If the goals and objectives are progressive, then the maintenance structure is recognized as a contributor to the hospital's foundation

**235**

*A Modern Approach for Maintenance Prioritization of Medical Equipment*

• To optimize the reliability of equipment and infrastructure

secure the best possible availability for medical use

• To train medical personnel in specific maintenance skills

• To ensure medical environmental protection

maintenance programs of the medical equipment [8].

Maintenance has three major forms:

and condition-based maintenance

These are illustrated in **Figure 1**.

cant increase in corrective maintenance.

line, and thus, variations can be used on some of the more conventional organiza-

• To ensure that equipment and infrastructure are always in good condition

• To advise on the acquisition, installation and operation of medical devices

Within the clinical engineering department of any hospital, a crucial aspect of the activities is the activity of maintenance and preventive maintenance of the medical equipment, because it involves significant human and financial resources. Therefore, the optimization of the use of the resources available in the clinical engineering departments is done by evaluating the efficiency of the preventive

b.Preventive maintenance, which includes systematic (periodic) maintenance

Maintenance can also be divided into planned and unplanned maintenance (or scheduled and unscheduled) (**Figure 2**). The following chart highlights the relation

The seven forms of maintenance distinguished above are the main types currently used in practice. Although preventive and predictive maintenance strategies differ in many ways, a maintenance program comprising both strategies yielded positive results. The maintenance strategy evaluation demonstrated that strategies based on performance verification and safety testing results and the manufacturers' recommendations led to a significant reduction in equipment failures and a signifi-

An efficient strategy in the correct application of the maintenance of medical devices consists of the use of a maintenance strategy for older devices and another strategy for high-tech devices. We must keep in mind that older medical devices to which only corrective maintenance has been applied cannot be included in

**Table 1** briefly explains the terms used in the two charts.

• To carry out prompt emergency repair of equipment and infrastructure so as to

Objectives of maintenance management: the more specific objectives of mainte-

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92706*

nance management are as follows [7]:

• To improve operational safety

Forms of maintenance:

a.Design-out maintenance

c.Corrective maintenance

to the previous chart.

tional structures.

### *A Modern Approach for Maintenance Prioritization of Medical Equipment DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92706*

line, and thus, variations can be used on some of the more conventional organizational structures.

Objectives of maintenance management: the more specific objectives of maintenance management are as follows [7]:


*Operations Management - Emerging Trend in the Digital Era*

and costs to achieve this goal [2, 3].

**equipment**

equipment.

tal protection [5].

to their different characteristics.

equipment. Perfect maintenance is the equation of performance, risk, resources

units should not only perform maintenance and repair work but also be actively involved in the acquisition and management of the equipment. For example, they can plan equipment services and manage stocks; they can provide technical consultancy for procurement and can develop technical cost estimates. I can also make

**2. Maintenance organization: objectives and responsibility for medical** 

Even if the medical equipment used in the hospital is purchased, rented or borrowed, the commitment to safety is an essential element of any process related to the use of medical equipment. Proper maintenance and proper use of medical equipment ensures maximum efficiency and increased availability of equipment, at optimal costs and under satisfactory conditions of quality, safety and environmen-

In order to make the process of maintenance of the medical equipment more efficient, it is necessary to consider the use of a maintenance program of the equipment that takes into account its characteristics and the defects that appear to the medical equipment. The application of such a program of maintenance of medical equipment could be effective in applying correct maintenance strategies for the management of the older technological devices and the new high-tech devices, due

Maintenance was long considered as a subordinate function, entailing an inevitable waste of money. There was a tendency to lump it together with troubleshooting and repairing machinery that was subject to wear and obsolescence. However, hospitals today are realizing that maintenance is not merely a 'partner' in medical services: it is an indispensable requirement for quality medical services [6]. Its relation with equipment performance is a question of integrated strategy at senior management level. As such, the maintenance function becomes a management

The structure that determines the goals and objectives of maintaining medical equipment is very important. If the goals and objectives are progressive, then the maintenance structure is recognized as a contributor to the hospital's foundation

In providing high-quality health services, medical equipment plays an essential role, because when the equipment is not used or properly maintained human damage can occur. In many situations, noncalibration, modification or repair of medical equipment by unqualified personnel can result in injury to the patient or loss of medical record. Preuse testing, preventative maintenance, malfunction reports (and incident reports) and repair procedures are just a few of the necessary actions prior to performing the medical act, to avoid injury caused by the use of medical

budget forecasts regarding the maintenance costs of medical equipment.

The first maintenance policies developed consist of interventions on equipment, which run until it stops accidentally (breakdown) in place due to wear or because of defects. The intervention is considered satisfactory as long as the equipment/system is operating at a minimum acceptable level (reactive maintenance). The development and increase of the complexity of medical equipment and devices have led to modernizing and updating maintenance techniques and policies. Depending on the costs related to the spare parts and materials, respectively to the losses due to the time spent in repair, several types of maintenance policies have been developed [4]. Due to the way the health services are organized, the technical staff in the health

**234**

responsibility.


Within the clinical engineering department of any hospital, a crucial aspect of the activities is the activity of maintenance and preventive maintenance of the medical equipment, because it involves significant human and financial resources. Therefore, the optimization of the use of the resources available in the clinical engineering departments is done by evaluating the efficiency of the preventive maintenance programs of the medical equipment [8].

Forms of maintenance:

Maintenance has three major forms:


These are illustrated in **Figure 1**.

Maintenance can also be divided into planned and unplanned maintenance (or scheduled and unscheduled) (**Figure 2**). The following chart highlights the relation to the previous chart.

**Table 1** briefly explains the terms used in the two charts.

The seven forms of maintenance distinguished above are the main types currently used in practice. Although preventive and predictive maintenance strategies differ in many ways, a maintenance program comprising both strategies yielded positive results. The maintenance strategy evaluation demonstrated that strategies based on performance verification and safety testing results and the manufacturers' recommendations led to a significant reduction in equipment failures and a significant increase in corrective maintenance.

An efficient strategy in the correct application of the maintenance of medical devices consists of the use of a maintenance strategy for older devices and another strategy for high-tech devices. We must keep in mind that older medical devices to which only corrective maintenance has been applied cannot be included in
