From small clinics to massive hospitals, medical facilities are a hive of activity that never truly gets a break. Day in and day out, patients are flowing through the doors, staff is taking on requests, and medical equipment is in use. Therefore, it is critical for facilities, no matter what size, to implement PPM schedules for servicing medical equipment.

What is a PPM Schedule?

A PPM schedule is a Planned Preventative Maintenance Schedule for servicing medical equipment. It is essentially a calendar to remind hospital staff when medical equipment should be checked on, recalibrated, and repaired.

Why are PPM Schedules for Servicing Medical Equipment Essential?

PPM schedules for servicing medical equipment are essential because they help medical facilities prevent equipment failures. Rather than waiting for a piece of equipment to break, which often results in extensive downtimes and costly repairs, staff can coordinate service schedules to ensure that all equipment is operating at peak performance and is in compliance with regulations.

How Can You Create a PPM Schedule?

The easiest way to create a PPM Schedule is with an automated management system. Within that system, you can track the following:

Inventory

Every medical facility should have in-depth documentation of every piece of equipment. The documentation should include the type and purpose of the equipment and the manufacturing information like serial number, age, part requirements, and manufactory repair policies. We recommend adding unique IDs and barcodes to each piece of equipment to aid staff in easily tracking the different devices with as little human error as possible.

Maintenance Schedules

For each piece of equipment, there should be a maintenance schedule that follows the manufacturer’s guidelines. These guidelines will be different for every piece of equipment, so having a calendar with automated service tickets will allow supply technicians to coordinate regular maintenance and eliminate potential failures.

Lifecycle Calendars

In addition to regular maintenance, there is a lifecycle to medical equipment. It is not designed to last forever, so having a lifecycle calendar in the automated system will allow supply staff a heads up on when to buy a new piece of equipment so that an aging device can be retired.

Audits

Lastly, regular audits should be imputed into the PPM Schedule for serving medical equipment. Medical equipment must follow specific compliance regulations, which are updated frequently. To prevent non-compliance, health hazards for staff and patients, and hefty fines from the FDA, we highly recommend scheduling audits to study new industry guidelines. These new guidelines will inform supply technicians of what needs to be updated within the automated system to ensure the peak safety of all medical devices.

CSAT Medical

CSAT Medical offers hospitals and medical facilities medical device maintenance and repairs in our state-of the-the-art facilities. Our technicians are experts in diagnosing and addressing equipment problems, allowing us the ability to receive, repair, process, and return your device efficiently. If you would like to improve your PPM schedule for servicing medical equipment, call today to learn more about how we can help you.