The META Scholar Volume 2 | Page 46

TMS Other: Assets Page 46 Are Your Assets Exposed? By Al Hardy, An Author Learning Objectives: In this article you will: Be able to indentify whether your assets are exposed or not. The phone rang. I picked it up. My supervisor, an E-7 and 15 years my senior, didn’t even look around. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. My first hospital was in Lubbock, Texas. Fresh out of the Air Force biomedical equipment technology training course, the instructors had taught me component-level troubleshooting on everything from a centrifuge to a radiographic/fluoroscopy unit. And what luck! My very first repair work order reported a problem in the Imaging Department. The X-Ray technician said that the GE fluoroscopy unit failed to turn on. With oscilloscope, frequency generator, logic probe, voltmeter, toolbox, tech manuals, and a work order all loaded on a cart, I lit out for Radiology. In the Imaging Department, I opened my toolbox. The combination was 007. Really, it was. I ran through the game plan: full operational check, listen for the relays, half-split troubleshoot…. My supervisor really did not seem too concerned. I thought that it mostly had to do with his upcoming retirement. He asked a couple of questions and listened as the X-Ray tech responded with his complaint. My supervisor looked at the monitor. He walked over and turned the intensity knob. The picture came up. I recorded my 1st repair work order as operator error! Hmm, imagine that. Operator error is part of the butt-ugly truth we face concerning managing assets. Only in this case, we uncover and report operator error on a continual basis. Risk is another issue we face. Technicians and engineers do a fine job of lowering the risk to patients by performing maintenance and in-services. Those are great things. But how well do we mitigate the risk of equipment and application failures or unplanned capital replacements? Are we involved in capital planning, risk analysis, utilization, maintenance, replacement planning, disposition, and revenue? My latest book, Covering Your Assets By Exposing The Butt-Ugly Truth, gives the narrative of a person who introduced life-cycle asset management to a medical facility. This effort involved support and direction from the C-Suite but it started at grass-root level. (Continued)