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Before equipment can be repaired, you need to be aware that there is a problem! Therefore, there should be a clearly understood system for reporting faults and breakdowns and equipment users should be encouraged to report faults and breakdowns as soon as possible. If there is no back-up equipment, a breakdown will mean that the service the equipment was providing will come to a halt. Simple repairs can be done by the in-house or external maintenance and repair team.
If the equipment is repaired where it is used, it is important that the team is trained to work safely and that they don't create hazards for patients or staff. More complex repairs will be carried out by specialised maintenance personnel ; they might come to the eye care unit or you may have to send the equipment to them for repairs. In all these situations, it is important to keep equipment users informed of how long their equipment will be unavailable. Some items of equipment will be found to be damaged beyond repair.
For others, spare parts may no longer be available as the equipment has become outdated. These will have reached the end of their lives and must be taken out of service decommissioned or retired and be replaced if the service they provide is to continue. Equipment that is being decommissioned should be disposed of safely and according to proper disposal procedures. Remember to update your records accordingly. In order for an eye care unit to manage its equipment effectively, it needs good maintenance and repair records.
It is very difficult to manage the unknown! A central maintenance and repair record will help you to keep track of the maintenance and repair work done. Ideally, this system should correspond to the eye unit's equipment inventory mentioned on page 34 ; this means that you will have maintenance and repair records for each of the items listed in the inventory.
This may include a space for users to indicate what spare parts, such as bulbs, were used. On a regular basis, the list of spare parts used should be noted in the central maintenance and repair record so that more spare parts can be ordered. The central maintenance and repair record can be used to keep track of all other maintenance, including maintenance done by the in-house team, by vendors, or by service agents.
The information captured should include the date, the equipment reference number, what was done, who did the work, and when next maintenance is due. One way of keeping track of regular maintenance tasks is to affix a tag to serviced or maintained equipment. This information should be reflected in the central maintenance record. In addition to the practical benefits of a central maintenance and repair system, it also provides eye care unit administrators and the equipment maintenance team with valuable information and proof that they can use to ask for more resources.
The maintenance department has fixed costs of $, and variable costs of , + , = $ , application rate per hour = Total c view the. The maintenance department expects to provide 10, hours of maintenance. a. What is the application rate for the maintenance department? b. What is the.
When we purchase a motor vehicle, we understand that we will have recurring costs for maintenance, theft and accident insurance, cleaning, parking, etc. The same is true for ophthalmic equipment since it costs money to operate and to maintain during its life cycle.
On average, the original purchase cost only makes up about twenty per cent of the entire life cycle cost of the equipment. In conclusion, adopting practical and workable systems to manage eye care equipment, as suggested in this article, will help you to get the most use out of the equipment you have. With equipment, prevention is usually better than cure!
It is also good practice to keep learning and to stay open to new ideas. Communicate with colleagues in other eye units, whether locally or through the internet, about the challenges you face and share with them the solutions you have found. Where possible, avoid using hammers, pliers, and files: Use the right tool to tighten screws and other parts. These frequently become wet when floors are being cleaned, especially in the operating theatre. Moisture seeps into the electrical components of the foot pedal which with time will stop working.
Always place any foot pedal off the floor when mopping. Wires and optical fibres from equipment such as laser machines, vitrectors, indirect ophthalmoscopes, etc. Staff should know how to handle and fold them properly in order to prevent damage.
In situations where wires and fibres have to lie on the floor, they should not be walked on or run over with heavy items such as trolleys or other wheeled furniture and equipment. Protect lenses from dust by always covering optical equipment when not in use. Humidity, or liquid spilled on instruments, can cause fungal growth mould on lenses. Many producers of optical equipment supply sachets of silica gel drying agents or fungicidal anti-mould pellets that you can place inside the dust cover.
You can also use a dehumidifier to keep the air in the room dry. Check that equipment is plugged in properly and that the cord is not in danger of shorting for example, if it is exposed to water or steam or in danger of being cut. Handle plugs or connectors with care. A break in a wire inside the plug casing is hard to find and causes equipment to work intermittently. This can result from bending the wire at the same place or unplugging from the socket by pulling on the cord.
Expensive and delicate equipment such as bench-top autoclaves, lasers, microscopes, slit lamps, and vitrectors can be severely damaged by sudden surges in electricity.
Using a voltage stabiliser or regulator will protect equipment against damage and will generally also prolong the life of equipment. We recommend good quality units which monitor the mains voltage continuously. If the input voltage falls below V or rises above V, the stabiliser will automatically disconnect the output. Stabilisers of poorer quality may be overwhelmed by large fluctuations, which will then damage any connected equipment. The use of an uninterrupted power supply UPS unit is strongly recommended for equipment such A-scans, visual field analysers, fundus cameras, lasers, and operating microscopes.
This ensures continuous operation of the equipment and less inconvenience for both surgeons and patients when there are power failures. We recommend using a UPS that is also able to act as a voltage stabiliser and protect the equipment against power surges. The type of UPS and its power output requirements can easily be determined by a qualified electrician. Equipment suppliers may also be able to give these details. Equipment and instruments that are transported for outreach work need to be packed and carried with special precautions so they are not damaged in transit.
Heavier equipment such as operating microscopes should be carefully dismantled and packed in damage-proof containers.
Can maintenance amounts be changed? Moisture seeps into the electrical components of the foot pedal which with time will stop working. Wires and optical fibres Wires and optical fibres from equipment such as laser machines, vitrectors, indirect ophthalmoscopes, etc. Search for Click to Search. Equipment users therefore have a significant role to play in the everyday care and maintenance of equipment. With equipment, prevention is usually better than cure! It may sound obvious, but a repair can't be attended to if nobody knows there is a problem.
Specially designed microscopes for mobile use are available with proper packing containers for safe transport. Sufficient stock of light bulbs and fuses should be carried together with a set of screw drivers and other basic tools. Staff travelling with outreach programmes should know how to pack, set up, and dismantle the equipment. Care and maintenance of equipment is everyone's responsibility; unusable equipment affects the quality of care we can offer our patients and makes our work more stressful. Whatever your role in the eye care team, there is a lot you can do to look after and prolong the life of the equipment you use.
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Open in a separate window. An operating table lies abandoned outside a hospital in a low-income country. Preventative maintenance Preventative maintenance prevents breakdowns and ensures that equipment is operational and safe to use. Equipment users, including clinic and operating theatre staff, can be trained to perform many of the simple care and maintenance duties that need to be done on a regular basis, such as dusting, cleaning, lubricating, protecting, and checking equipment, including safety checks.
Both parents have a responsibility to support their children financially. This applies to all parents, whether married, separated, living together or if they have never lived together. The parent with custody of the children has to take care of them and look after their day-to-day needs. The parent who does not have custody usually has to pay money to the parent with custody.
This is to help cover the costs of taking care of the children. A cohabitant of a person who is a parent, or a cohabitant of a person who has the day-to-day care loco parentis of a child may have to financially maintain the child, if that cohabitant is a guardian and is not the parent. Parents, whether married or not, can apply for maintenance from the other parent for their children. A parent, legal guardian, health board or any person holding legal status in relation to a dependent child can apply for maintenance for the child.
A dependant child is a child under eighteen years of age, or a child under 23 who is in full time education, or a child of any age who is dependant on its parents due to disability.
There is no limit on the amount of maintenance payable which is agreed by informal arrangements made outside of the court. A parent can seek a contribution from the other parent towards expenses related to the birth of a child, or funeral expenses if a dependent child dies. If greater amounts are sought then it is necessary to apply to the Circuit Court or the High Court.
Most applications for maintenance are made in the District Court.
You can engage asolicitor to make an application on your behalf or you can make the application yourself. You may be entitled to legal aid. If you choose not to engage a solicitor you will need to contact the District Court office in the area where you live to issue a maintenance summons. After service, the original summons, together with a statutory declaration as to service, with proof of postage attached, must be lodged with the District Court clerk at least two days before the date of the court hearing.
You must also attend in court on the day to make your application. This includes applications to discharge or vary the maintenance order. Maintenance applications can also be brought under the Guardianship of Infants Acts, - as part of custody, access, maintenance or other applications. The person directed to pay maintenance the maintenance debtor makes the payment to the District Court. The District Court office keeps a record of all maintenance payments received. At the hearing of the summons, the District Court clerk can give sworn evidence to the court of the amount of arrears due.
The District Court office can only issue the payment if it has received it. If the maintenance debtor has not made payments the maintenance creditor can attend at the District Court office to issue proceedings to recover arrears. It depends on the type of payment received. Cash, standing order, bank draft and money orders are processed immediately. If the payment is made by cheque the payment issues ten days later provided the bank clears the cheque.
Court offices will accept advance payments where requested by the maintenance debtor. Where advance payments are received by court offices, the complete advance payment is sent to the maintenance creditor. Proceedings for the recover of maintenance arrears may be made in the court where the maintenance order was made or in the District Court depending on the remedy sought. If the maintenance debtor is an employee then the maintenance creditor can obtain an 'attachment of earnings' order. This is an order directing the maintenance debtor's employers to deduct a specified sum from the debtor's wages.
When a court makes an attachment of earnings order it must specify the normal deduction rate and the protected earnings rate.