Maintaining control is team’s vital role

Also highlighted are a number of engineering improvements to other Bendigo Health facilities undertaken by the team – ranging from new lighting system installation to fitting of chillers.

 Bendigo Health is a large regional 678-bed service that treats over 34,000 inpatients, and deals with over 42,000 emergency department attendances, per year. There are five aged care facilities in different locations, and a variety of community-based facilities across the Loddon Mallee region. The Buildings & Infrastructure (B&I) Department is responsible for the maintenance of all buildings owned by Bendigo Health, as well as the management of major refurbishments, and development of new facilities. Much of this work is undertaken by hospital staff, and, where necessary, by external contractors, closely managed by B&I staff. The BMS group plans, designs, builds, installs, and commissions, mechanical switchboards and DDC control for HVAC systems and other plants, such as medical air and vacuum systems. The group also installs proximity card door controls, including the installation of electric strikes, latches, magnets etc, depending on the application. A brief description of some of the more recent projects we have undertaken is included in this paper, together with details of a project that exemplifies our work. The example used in this paper to illustrate our capabilities is that of a negative pressure suite, included in the upgrade of the Emergency Department at Bendigo Health. Kevin Moon’s article on the Design of Hospital Isolation Rooms1 provided good background material for the design of the suite and dedicated HVAC, and the guidelines for the classification and design of isolation rooms in healthcare facilities2 were closely followed. This paper will briefly describe what a negative pressure suite is, and what features it should display in order to meet the guidelines mentioned above. It will then describe the BMS group’s involvement in the architectural and engineering design of the suite, followed by the design and implementation of the HVAC control in ensuring the guidelines are met. This example will highlight some of the problems encountered, the advantages of the BMS group’s close involvement at every stage of the build, and why it is important that we maintain control of our BMS systems.

Rationale for the BMS group