Veterinary Clinics / Animal Hospitals

[north star]

= $ = $

I have posed this question on another [ codes ] Forum and 1
member from this Forum has indicated that there are no
codes / design standards requirements for Veterinarian
Clinics or Animal Hospitals.

I am asking the question on this Forum to see if possibly
there are some design standards for Veterinarian Clinics
/ and or Animal Hospitals, so, ...if someone takes little
"Fifi", or "Fido", or "Dusty" [ a horsie ] in for a surgical
procedure; as I have done on countless occasions,
...what codes / design standards are used to prevent
these family members from being shocked / electrocuted?
Does the state have design standards, ...possibly a
Department of Agriculture, ...NFPA, ...other ?

Thanks for any input!

$ = $ =

 

[RICK NAPIER]

There arn't any that I have ever heard of but I have inspected facilites that treated it as if it where a health care facility.

 

[roger]

= $ = $

I have posed this question on another [ codes ] Forum and 1
member from this Forum has indicated that there are no
codes / design standards requirements for Veterinarian
Clinics or Animal Hospitals.

I am asking the question on this Forum to see if possibly
there are some design standards for Veterinarian Clinics
/ and or Animal Hospitals, so, ...if someone takes little
"Fifi", or "Fido", or "Dusty" [ a horsie ] in for a surgical
procedure; as I have done on countless occasions,
...what codes / design standards are used to prevent
these family members from being shocked / electrocuted?
Does the state have design standards, ...possibly a
Department of Agriculture, ...NFPA, ...other ?

Thanks for any input!

$ = $ =

Well, chapters 1 through 4 do apply and 6 through 9 where applicable, 517 does not.

Roger

 

[north star]

~ ~ ~ $

Thanks to all for the input so far!

It's that "when electrical devices / equipment comes
in to contact" with my "Fifi" [ Article 517 stuff ] that
concerns me [ RE: drills, ...cauterizing wands,
...other ]. hmy:

$ ~ ~ ~

 

[chris kennedy]

I have posed this question on another [ codes ] Forum and 1
member from this Forum has indicated that there are no
codes / design standards requirements for Veterinarian
Clinics or Animal Hospitals.

And you didn't believe me?

 

[George Stolz]

~ ~ ~ $

Thanks to all for the input so far!

It's that "when electrical devices / equipment comes
in to contact" with my "Fifi" [ Article 517 stuff ] that
concerns me [ RE: drills, ...cauterizing wands,
...other ]. hmy:

$ ~ ~ ~

The NEC isn't similarly concerned.

Your posts are hard to read with all the flair.

 

[cowboyjwc]

No requirements. I tried really hard to find them on the first one I ever did. I was kind of surprised. I was told that there eye doctors were exempt too, but I'm still fighting that one.

 

[roger]

Your posts are hard to read with all the flair.

Yes they are Roger

 

[ActionDave]

Your posts are hard to read with all the flair.

I agree, also.

 

[renosteinke]

There's a whole profession dedicated to designing buildings for their customers. It's called 'architecture.' Hire an architect. It's his job.

Yet, we often get drawn into poorly planned jobs - and, as the electrician, we are the only ones who see the job from groundbreaking to occupancy.

Don't look for any code to spell out every little detail for you. There's little profit in debating what a 'patient' is, or whether an area is merely 'damp.' Good design has little to do with the fine lines of code compliance; good design can't help but meet code.

I'll bet there's a vetrinary trade association with lots of good advice on the topic.

What to do? Well, how about some 'hands on' research? That's what I do.

Visit a few local vets. Look at their facilities, especially their newer facilities. What was done? Watch the vet, and his crew, through an entire day. What activities do they perform, and under what conditions? How do the animals act?

A vet's clinic does everything a major hospital does, though usually on a smaller scale. It makes sense that operating areas be treated in similar ways, regardless of the type of patient. Ditto for exam areas, waiting areas, etc.

Fact is, the inspector is likely to be even more ignorant than you are. At inspection time, you need to be able to explain what you did, and why. Why a bubble cover indoors, 4-ft off the floor? Did you know horses can pee 5 ft high? I think you get my point ...

 

[jwelectric]

Fact is, the inspector is likely to be even more ignorant than you are. ...

Eagerly waiting to read the response from this statement:slaphead: Even though I do agree with it for the most part.

 

[RICK NAPIER]

Fact is, the inspector is likely to be even more ignorant than you are.

Sometimes we are even smart enough not to take the bait.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Sometimes we are even smart enough not to take the bait.

Or just consider the source. :happyyes:

 

[George Stolz]

There's little profit in debating what a 'patient' is...

I beg to differ. Doing a patient care area wrong will result in doing the job twice. A job done twice means twice the labor, twice the material, substantially less profit.

Edit to add: And wiring an area as a patient care area unnecessarily will result in a huge chunk out of the profit.

Electricians typically do not hire architects. That's on the customer. If they want to go cheap, all the more reason not to install a bunch of stuff they don't want to pay for.

What to do? Well, how about some 'hands on' research?

Or, save time and simply ascertain what is required by code, if the prints do not call for more than code compliance. Why waste time and lessen the profit even more?

Edit to add: You're really suggesting shadowing a vet all day?

 

[renosteinke]

Of course the inspector is less informed than you! After all, you've had the head start, doing your design. Might as well share your research with him.

As for research ... I've done exactly that when I wired my first 'coffee bar,' my first hair salon, my first walk-in cooler/freezer, and my first cashier station. I went to existing businesses and saw what they had found necessary, what issues they had encountered.

Sure, it took time. I sure learned a lot, though - with the end result that 'my stuff worked' the first time through. Sure, I took some flak (usually from the GC) for doing 'unnecessary' stuff. In each case I was able to produce proof that what I was doing was,in fact, necessary. Sometime the customer would be doubtful - only, a few months later, to express his gratitude that he had the 'extra' stuff done.

The hair salon guy said: This is the first place I've had where the blow dryers weren't making us run back and forth to the panel all day."

The mini-mart guy said: "We've been open a year, and we haven't lost power to the coffee during the morning rush even once .... and I never imagined I'd need that receptacle you put up by the ceiling." (Receptacle was for an ice maker over the soda fountain- he needed to hang a sign there).

The Chinese restaurant was a hoot. Those folks were so suspicious of me .... but, come opening day, my stuff was ready. Their GC was fussing around for weeks to come, fixing things. Before long, they were telling all the Chinese places : Call Reno!

It's not that I'm so smart. It's all about good design. I figure it's my job to LEARN, not just to pull wire.

I have not done a vet clinic. When my own vet expanded, his GC already had an EC. I've been 'in the back' enough times to know there are some pretty specialized corners. While the whole room might not be an 'operating theater,' the area around table 5 certainly is. Anesthetics, body fluids, hose-downs, the whole works. If I were to wire a vet's, I'd want a clear understanding of what went on in there, first.

Look ... with even something as simple as hanging lights in a warehouse, details matter. The lights don't do much good, and service is a challenge, if the lights don't line up with the aisles. I'm also convinced that no warehouse would have those awful HPS lights, if only the designer had once tried to do HIS paperwork under them.

Today's job has me in an industrial setting, where the management insists their plant is well lit. Why, the engineer showed me the 'design standard,' and pulled out a meter to show they mey the specification for lighting. Sure they do; that's why everyone has flashlights mounted to their hard hats.

It's easy to miss the obvious, and we all need to make reality checks.

 

[roger]

Of course the inspector is less informed than you!

You didn't think to look at the OP's profile did you?

Roger

 

[renosteinke]

No, I did not ..... and I still haven't.

I don't care if the guy can recite the NEC backwards, in Swahili, and has his own vetrinary clinic and a Doctorate of Architecture. No one is as familiar with a job as the guy who has already been there.

The inspector might have seen a print. He might even have been to the site before. Yet, he's not going to know the job as well as someone who's there every day- and he has no way of knowing what choices were made along the way, or for what reason.

That's my point.

Now ... does the EC want to let the ignorant inspector make guesses ... or, does he want to gently lead the inspector down the path that led him to make the choices he made? Seems the latter is the way to prevent misunderstandings.

It's kind of like the way I chose my car. I'd be amazed if anyone here has the same car .... but I'll also bet that everyone here would come to the same conclusion, if I only shared the factors that led to the choice. Most, indeed, would be able to see that the car I have is just about the only possible car i could have obtained.

 

[roger]

That's my point.

Well, what ever your point is I do want to say thanks for not claiming it is some diabolical covert government plot.

But, if you had looked at the OP's profile you would see he is not an EC, he is an inspector asking a question.


Roger

 

[cowboyjwc]

I wouldn't be to quick to bag on what an inspector knows about a building. I've lived In town for almost 30 years and I've been an inspector here for almost 23 now. Worked on every major project that's been built in this town and I'm the plan checker too. I can usually tell the EC a thing or two about a building. Sometimes it's to late by the time I get there. Like the time they decided that they wanted to move the swithes from where they were on the plans to another wall so they cut in the six gang box and then I had to inform them that the wall they had just cut into was a two hour one. I knew it, but they should have noticed the two layers of drywall. But I'm also an EC so you're not going to do too much that I haven't done myself at one time or another.

 

[renosteinke]

Well, Roger, that's reassuring.

I have never been party to any conspiracy theory .... you must have me confused with someone else.

I'd like to think ideas stand on their own merits, and that there is no role for personal attacks. Then again, I was raised on Alinsky, and I realize that you may not have intended to 'marginalize' or 'isolate' me. My apologies if I am over-reacting.