Key Information to Help You Feel Informed About Your Industry
Day-to-day operations in the healthcare facility is enough work to test the patience of even the most experienced facility manager and their team. Many managers wish they could be in two (or three, or four) places at once.
This article provides support for one major responsibility facing facility teams: keeping up on the latest industry information on commercial HVAC systems. Each of the insights provided below offers more than just food for thought. This information is actionable, meaning that you can take what you’ve learned and begin setting plans in motion based on your facility’s particular needs.
How to Remain Proactive About Your Commercial HVAC Systems
Healthcare Facilities Management, the magazine published by the American Society of Healthcare Engineers, recently released a comprehensive guide to understanding the healthcare industry’s challenges.
Emphasizing training and education, author Lindsey Brackett identifies these five areas of focus:
- Emergency management
- Infection prevention
- Regulatory environment
- Patient experience
- Leadership
Each of these categories articulated in the HFM article delivers helpful information for professional growth: a summary of each focus area, a “field experience” section that articulates how to think about this challenge as an everyday necessity in healthcare, and links to practical resources that can help expedite solutions.
As these challenges relate to commercial HVAC installation, the resources in this article contain strategies which all require a partnership with an HVAC manufacturing team:
- Emergency management procedures should include commissioning stainless-steel commercial HVAC systems with features that help mitigate disasters, such as cyberattack, seismic activity, and dangerous equipment malfunction.
- Air filtration is a primary solution to prevent Healthcare-Acquired Infections (HAIs).
- Your healthcare facility must meet air filtration and ventilation regulations.
- Indoor air quality and HVAC design are both important tools for providing a safe, comfortable, and desirable built environment.
- Leadership includes staying up to date on current infrastructure best practices and trends to not only remain current, but to provide exceptional care.
Read the full article, “Five Unique Challenges of Health Care,” to identify areas that your team should address.
Interpreting ASHRAE 170
ASHRAE standards offer a uniform process for how refrigeration, heating, and air conditioning should function in the built environment, including schools, office buildings, and more. ASHRAE Standard 170, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities, has provided regular updates on air distribution and filtration standards for healthcare facilities since 2008.
The application of this standard by your facility management team ensures that your commercial HVAC system provides a safe environment for patients and staff. ASHRAE standards suggest minimum requirements upon which you stack additional best practices for the successful design and installation of a commercial HVAC system.
When you work with a leading stainless-steel commercial HVAC system manufacturer, look for a team that is well-versed in ASHRAE Standard 170. Gain your own understanding of this standard and how it may apply to your facility’s various needs with this article, “Understanding ASHRAE Standard 170 and How AJ Manufacturing Can Help.” This article provides links to relevant aspects of this standard in and suggestions for products that meet ASHRAE benchmarks.
Commercial HVAC Systems Lead to Infection Prevention Wins
As a facility manager, it is absolutely essential to move beyond seeing the forest for the trees. The many responsibilities and stresses of working in a healthcare environment often force facility teams to address granular concerns, leaving them less time to prioritize innovative solutions that better facilities in the long term. The here and now also prevents healthcare facility teams from fully experiencing big wins when they get them, or recognizing the creativity their roles require when solving complex problems.
This database, Infection Prevention and Control Success Stories from the American Hospital Association™, presents a well-curated series of case studies. Each study demonstrates how healthcare solutions, including commercial HVAC installation, help limit infection in healthcare settings, including the many creative solutions engineered by facility teams to protect patients. Reading through this database may provide encouragement for facility teams, while refreshing their playbook on how stainless-steel commercial HVAC systems can be leveraged for success.
Further Resources on Commercial HVAC Systems for Healthcare Environments
As facility teams continually improve their buildings to meet present and future demands, they should look to an exceptional commercial HVAC system manufacturer to assist them in two primary ways:
- The design and construction of customized air distribution systems and products, including those used in mission-critical environments.
- Consistent updates on industry-related practices, current events, product trends, relevant data, and more.
When you’ve set a goal of installing a commercial HVAC system or products, you will find that working with a top manufacturer provides more than just a product. You deserve a partnership that includes consistent support for your facility and your industry knowledge, long after materials have shipped.