TMS
Case Studies
Page 24
FTE Cont.
Disclaimer
is similar to a
waiver of rights
associated to
statement or
assertion being
made to protect
the author
Additionally, other FTE hours must also be included within the calculation
such as weekly or monthly meetings, supervisory or managerial hours, inservice training, equipment planning, technical surveys, equipment end-of
-life or turn-ins, as well as any special projects, travel-time between devices or buildings, and administrative time [e.g. answering phones, faxing,
on-call, organizing technical literature shelves, ordering/researching parts
and supplies, etc...]. For example, let us say that two BMETs in our hospital are engaged in other multiple clinical operations such as patient safety
and hazardous waste management, well then none of them cannot be
exclusively committed to performing their daily routine tasks because
other tasks have been assigned. So, if we had a centralized database
that breaks down what devices we should be maintaining, what the inspections cycle frequencies are as well as how long of a time period each
technician is suppose to spend performing scheduled maintenance then
we can account for the time-spent in these other areas and then redirect
our workers to be productive in the areas in which we hired them to do.
The value-added benefit would be to improving the quality of workmanship 2, improving the safety of our patients and staff, as well as preserve
the life of expensive electronics [become more conservative] and finally
lower dollars on electronic waste by having the right amount of time per
device-technician to do his or her task with greater than 95% efficiency.
Disclaimer: The author does not recommend modifying any department
FTEs but, you should develop a case study as a good support tool. In
fact, FTEs should be modified according to your local policies and developed from accurate computed work flow maintenance system analysis.
References:
1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational
Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Medical Equipment Repairers, on
the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos355.htm (visited March 24,
2012).
2. Lynch, Patrick. Top 10 Indicators of a Quality Biomed and Imaging Service Program. MD Publishing. 1 March 2010. Link http://
www.mdpublishing.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=399