Why PPM Schedules are vital for Medical Equipment Servicing

Planned Preventative Maintenance or PPM schedules for biomedical equipment maintenance is the process of ensuring the continued functionality of sophisticated medical equipment. This is achieved by carrying out inspections or servicing on a planned schedule.

In this article we cover:

• Why PPM Schdules are needed for medical equipment servicing
• How PPM Schdules are carried out by biomedical specialists
• Why Biomedical Equipment Technicians use software for PPM schedules
• How Medical Servicing companies anticipate the needs of their healthcare clients
• How one of the largest US biomedical servicing companies manages their PPM schedules

Why PPM Schedules are needed for Medical Equipment servicing

Planned Preventative Maintenance schedules reduce the downtime of equipment by spotting potential failures in equipment early. Continued Maintenance Contracts are made easier to manage by using PPM Schedules to plan out the frequency of servicing of medical equipment.

The quality of the healthcare offered by your clients is directly linked to the effectiveness of the equipment being used. Should the performance of the medical equipment drop it can have a significant effect on the quality of a patient’s treatment.

In a report by McKinsey & Company, they found that regular planned maintenance of medical devices through a PPM schedule minimises warranty costs and avoids the need for expensive urgent service visits. You can see more on that report here.

“As a result of PPM Schedules the aggregate rate of emergency field service calls and visits fell by more than 20 percent”

McKinsey & Company

How your customer benefits from have their Medical Devices and Equipment on PPM schedules

The long term benefits of running PPM schedules on Medical Equipment are extensive. However, some customers may feel they only need your maintenance services when there’s a problem. This is a costly way of operating and it’s in your customers best interest to think more long term.

Extended lifecycles

When medical equipment breaks down it takes a toll on the machinery. With regular routine inspections, small repairs and part replacement carried out with a PPM schedule the lifecycle of the medical equipment can be extended and your customer will achieve a great ROI on the device.

Fewer call out charges

Every unexpected break down is costly. Not just from the inability to offer a service or provide the patient care that your customer strive for but also in call out charges from their service partners. The reduction in call out charges alone should be enough to encourage your customers to adopt a maintenance plan based on preventative maintenance schedules.

Predictable maintenance schedules

It’s much easier to find time in both your schedule and your customers when there is a predictable pattern of when the PPM jobs are booked. Your customer won’t have to wait longer for their equipment to be serviced when all scheduled dates are in the diary.

Fewer business disruptions

Anytime a piece of medical equipment fails it is disruptive. Asset downtime can seriously impede a patients care and creates a very poor experience. Your customers hold the quality of their care above everything else and that’s why it’s important to maintain optimum performance from their medical devices. This is much easier to achieve when they adopt a PPM model for services.

Increased First Time Fix Rate

One of the key issues faced by Medical Equipment Servicing businesses is stock and part availability. Particularly at the moment with Global Supply Chain issues causing havoc with your ability to quickly source replacement parts. By adopting a PPM schedule for medical equipment maintenance part usage will be more predictable and you’ll quickly spot if you need to order new parts in. With access to the parts and inventory you need to complete the service your First Time Fix Rate will improve and your customer won’t experience any extended periods of asset downtime.

How are PPM schedules in Biomedical carried out by Biomedical Equipment Technicians?

The overall goal of Biomedical Equipment Technicians (BMET) is to keep their client’s medical equipment operational and avoid unexpected call-outs, which causes a disruption of a patient’s treatment.

Replacing or repairing parts before a breakdown occurs will ensure the equipment has a longer operational lifecycle and reduces the negative impact of equipment downtime. Depending on the equipment itself will determine the time between each service or inspection.

Having well structured PPM schedules can be highly beneficial to the client and the Biomedical Servicing Company. The client will avoid the negative impact equipment downtime has on their business and the servicing company will be able to rely on reliable, predictable cash flow.

Why Biomedical Equipment Technicians (BMET) use software for PPM schedules

Most Biomedical Equipment Technicians (BMETs) rely on software to plan out their PPM schedules and Job Management Software gives them access to documentation and notes on the equipment. 

Photos can be taken on site and uploaded to the asset which can help identify repeated failure points and gives the technician what they need to make an informed decision on whether to repair or replace. 

Managers or Team Schedulers at Biomedical Equipment Servicing companies will plan out their next few weeks and months, ensuring they rotate through the planned maintenance schedules for their clients.

How Medical Servicing companies anticipate the needs of their healthcare clients

To grow and develop the relationships they have with their clients, Healthcare and Medical equipment servicing companies use the data they collect on site to make better decisions.

Replacing equipment can be a costly affair for their clients but with data to support their proposal, its a lot easier to advise customers on the long term benefits of replacing equipment rather than continuing with on-going repairs.

“To be able to see very easily what we had to do previously for that particular piece of equipment is so valuable”

Sarah Betteley, Deva Medical

 

Every inspection or service they complete provides more information that Medical Equipment Servicing businesses can use to track trends in equipment faults.

The data that Sarah’s team collects on site using Klipboard, helps Deva Medical make better, more informed decisions around the maintenance of their client’s Healthcare equipment. Learn more.

How one of the largest biomedical servicing companies in the US manages their PPM schedules

Land Sea and Sky, manage the recurring PPM schedules for hospitals and clinics and are one of the largest biomedical equipment maintenance businesses in the US to offer this service.

Owner, Chris Hysinger and his team are expected to monitor how often each microscope is needed to be serviced and manage the PPM schedules to ensure their client meets compliance regulations.

This presents a huge challenge for them. Mainly because they could be dealing with different people at the hospitals all the time and those people can’t be expected to know the service expiry date for the equipment, it’s down to Land Sea and Sky.

Chris says, ‘previously, it was a huge task and we were regularly called up by the client to say we’ve got this many microscopes needing servicing and they have to be done by Friday because that’s when they expire’.

Using PPM schedules managed in Klipboard, Chris is able to have a complete picture of the work that needs completely and not get caught out by unexpected calls from the client.

Here’s a video of Chris explaining how that works:

“Klipboard has revolutionized our ability to track each asset service” Chris Hysinger, Land Sea and Sky

They are now able to track the service history for each asset by creating a record of it in Klipboard, adding serial numbers or asset tags and they can give their team full visibility of the service dates and service history.

Land Sea and Sky are now able to be proactive and contact the clients ahead of time and schedule the service.

PPM Schedules in medical servicing are simplified by using Field Service Management Software from Klipboard

Job Management Software will help Field Service Engineers schedule the servicing of medical equipment and improve the overall quality of the service you offer to your healthcare clients.

Here’s a quick video showing how easily you can create PPM schedules for a client by using Klipboard:

With Klipboard you’re able to quickly find your client’s details and raise a job. Previously you would need to book a job onto your CRM system and then separately schedule more service dates into a calendar. Without Klipboard you would have further admin to do by sending the assigned technician documentation and details on the asset they are servicing. Learn more.

You may also be interested in… “Why Self-service portals are expected by Medical Customers”

In a recent published report it found that 88% of customers expect a brand or business to offer an online self-service portal. You can read more about that and how it can help you improve the service you offer to your customers on PPM schedules by reading our article find out more.

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