Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. (SSR), a leader among engineering firms in designing, consulting, and commissioning projects, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Strategic Hospital Resources (SHR), an Atlanta-based medical equipment planning firm. SSR will immediately combine operations with SHR, a global FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment) planning and clinical consulting firm incorporated in the […]
In the November/December issue of Facility Maintenance Decisions, Mike Spach, RRC, RRO, CITL 1, overview how a comprehensive roof inspection program can help building managers hold down repair costs and extend long-term performance.
In 2018, Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. is celebrating the firm’s 50th anniversary, focusing on making a difference to their clients, colleagues, and communities. As part of this commitment, SSR focused on improving the communities we serve throughout the year with two programs — Day of Making a Difference and Granting Change. On August 17 and […]
ECRI Institute (ECRI) recently published its 2019 Top 10 list of health technology hazards. Healthcare organizations could consider this latest update of this list as one of many potential sources for identifying new safety risks or guiding due reconsideration of previously-identified safety risks. ECRI determines the content of the annual list, by considering adverse incidents, […]
CMS changed the rules for both inventories and equipment inspection, testing and maintenance (ITM) requirements in December 2013. The CMS changes require that, where law and regulations do not stipulate ITM, manufacturer ITM recommendations must be followed unless the organization has a compliant AEM Program and uses a risk-based process to determine how and when […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)-issued Survey & Certification (S&C) Letter S&C:14-07-Hospital (titled “Hospital Equipment Maintenance Requirements”) dated Dec. 12, 2013, includes requirements and state agency survey guidelines. Most of the accrediting organizations copy the CMS S&C letter AEM inclusion-risk assessments verbatim within their physical environment standards. These requirements appear to apply only […]
Projects like the 208,700 SF Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Olive Branch (Miss.) Hospital sometimes receive their most attention when the ribbon is cut. The anticipated LEED Gold for Healthcare certification, the exceptional attention to sustainability, and the use of integrated project delivery (IPD) to meet a strict budget and construction timeline are all aspects that […]
TJC recently released its newly updated Life Safety & Environment of Care Document List and Review Tool, marked REVISED: 4/30/2018. The individual pages of the list are each marked with a 3/13/2018 revision date, which correlates to the TJC speaker’s 3/27/2018 PDC Conference general session reference to those revisions. This is the list of documents […]
TJC recently released its newly updated Life Safety & Environment of Care Document List and Review Tool, marked REVISED: 4/30/2018. The individual pages of the list are each marked with a 3/13/2018 revision date, which correlates to the TJC speaker’s 3/27/2018 PDC Conference general session reference to those revisions. This is the list of documents […]
Surveyors often seem to find the violations you did not see before they arrived at your facility. Why is that? It may be because they have never seen your facility before, so they see everything with what professionals in the field call “fresh eyes.” A major contributing factor is also the important fact that surveyors […]
What do compliance surveyors see during a building tour? Pretty much everything. Surveyors who review physical environments are sophisticated in spotting existing problem areas within health care facilities both because they know where to look and because their “fresh eyes” have never seen those areas before. While many health care facility professionals maintain eagle-eyed surveillance […]
TJC recently updated its Survey Activity Guide (SAG) for 2018. Contained within that updated SAG is an updated Life Safety and Environment of Care Document List and Review Tool, found on SAG pages 101-108. It appears that the new LS/EC Document List and Review Tool included some of the January 2018 changes to TJC’s elements […]
Renovations and retrofits of restrooms and plumbing systems present maintenance and engineering managers with a set of difficult challenges. These areas of institutional and commercial facilities must use water efficiently, operate reliably, avoid hygiene concerns and generally provide a positive user experience. To help organizations achieve these goals, maintenance and engineering managers need to understand […]
In the Winter 2017 issue of Streamlines magazine, SSR colleague Lindsay Bryant details her experience at the WEFTEC 2017 conference which was held in Alexandria, VA. Bryant details her involvement in community service projects, experiences in technical sessions and committee members, and networking on the exhibit floor. See pages 20-21 for the full article.
Most hospitals have utility failure procedures for major utility systems or equipment. However, existing utility failure procedures may have room for improvement, particularly in how they deal with common-mode failure potential within their utility systems and equipment. Reliability professionals generally consider that multiple failures, including failures in otherwise redundant equipment, attributable to a common cause […]
