Following more than a year of successful operation, a pilot automation project started at Eugene Marais Hospital - one of 60 hospitals in the Afrox Healthcare Group - is to be marketed countrywide as a means of not only drastically cutting costs but also improving operating efficiency in local hospitals.
In a two-month project at the beginning of 1999, Aucamp Electronics teamed up with gas supplier Afrox and control software supplier Adroit Technologies to implement a telemetry-based automated monitoring network at the Pretoria hospital initially aimed at preventative maintenance. Such was the success of the system, however, that it is now capable of monitoring and controlling power supply, hot and cold water supply and climate control.
Early fault-detection strategies in place have already benefited the hospital both in terms of equipment life and maintenance.
"The moment that there is a sign of irregularity in any of the monitored variables, such as temperature, pressure or humidity, the Adroit scada system sends an SMS message - 24 h a day - to the cellphone of Senior Electrician Bobby Hosseinkhani," explains Adroit System Integrator Pierre Aucamp. "He can then determine the cause of this irregularity and take corrective action proactively, thereby saving equipment or even human lives."
With remote terminal units sourced from Specialist System Engineering, Aucamp Electronics is able to deliver a customised telemetry solution that brings the most modern of automation benefits to hospitals at a fraction of the expected cost. This means that increased levels of safety and efficiency of operation are now available to local hospitals despite their relatively small budgets.
As a supplier of medical gas to hospitals for over 25 years, Afrox is notably impressed with the control and savings that has been achieved at Eugene Marais. "The initial investment in such a system is so quickly recouped," says Afrox Healthcare Operations Manager Retief van Niekerk, explaining the cost of theatre downtime or possible failure. "A hospital that can provide such a constant high quality of operating environment easily attracts doctors and their patients." He adds that the modular nature of the automation solution means that hospitals can start by only monitoring a few crucial variables, then build-up until every important function and component on-site is being monitored and controlled by the scada system, thereby achieving guaranteed stability and financial savings.
It is envisaged that even personnel control functions such as access control be included in the system, since it is already capable of incorporating such applications. Other hospital functions that could be controlled/monitored by Adroit are stock control and tracking, long-term reporting and trending for improved decision making.
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