Pyxis MedStation

[mbrooke]

Presently the med station and automatic door openers are on the equipment branch. Would it make more sense to have the medication dispensing station on the critical branch, while having the door openers on the life safety branch?

https://imgur.com/4VKI4qe

Second, would a hyperbaric control panel belong on the equipment branch instead of the life safety branch?

https://imgur.com/qzxGYRu

Lastly, is delayed automatic transfer mandatory for the equipment branch or can that to transfer in 10 seconds? I can't see the med station or door openers being delayed.

Any clue why everything is set up this way currently?

 

[chrismarcellino]

Pyxis (medication dispensers) could be critical but definitely not life safety. They have no impact on ingress/egress/gas alarms/controls etc. They are built with regular standard reliability computers (i.e. Windows embedded software) and have power actuated controlled access medication trays and should be accessible for patient care, but a brief or even prolonged interruption is a non-issue beyond an irritation. For your info only, there is always another place to get medications (central pharmacy, the unit next door or mechanical key override) and mission critical medications are kept in a “code cart” that is protected by only a breakaway wire tie.) Hence, this is basically critical (but not life safety) by definition. One could interpret the rules slightly differently since it isn't actually in a patient room/exam area and make it equipment, but I would prefer it critical. Worth discussing with your engineering.

Automatic door openers are probably best spec’d as is as equipment unless the door cannot be opened completely at all with reasonable effort by a normal (small) person. This is probably fine as most doors can just be pushed to override and power door openers are not a direct patient care issue (and a waste of backup/critical capacity.) Locks and e/ingress lighting are a different deal and if a powered door must be powered to e/ingress it is life safety. Spec looks right.

The hyperbaric panel is most likely critical I would guess as opposed to life safety, unless the system cannot be depressurized and entered in a power failure. Consult with site engineering or mfg? Should not be equipment as it is obviously essentially to patient care (a human goes inside the thing being controlled.) Eng should make the final call on all this based on site policy. May have its own integral power backup anyhow and often this is spec'd by the mfg.

Re: your transfer question, equipment circuits can be on the "optional" branch of backup power and can be delayed (or shed completely.) All of this should be spec'd by site engineering or if a new facility, the contracting firm. What you are seeing is not unreasonable though., but you can RFI of course.

 

[Microwatt]

I would say if the door with the auto operator has an exit sign above it, it is required to be on the life-safety branch.

 

[mbrooke]

I would say if the door with the auto operator has an exit sign above it, it is required to be on the life-safety branch.

Thats my interpretation as well- however this isn't the first set of prints where auto door openers are all on the equipment branch.

 

[mbrooke]

Pyxis (medication dispensers) could be critical but definitely not life safety. They have no impact on ingress/egress/gas alarms/controls etc. They are built with regular standard reliability computers (i.e. Windows embedded software) and have power actuated controlled access medication trays and should be accessible for patient care, but a brief or even prolonged interruption is a non-issue beyond an irritation. For your info only, there is always another place to get medications (central pharmacy, the unit next door or mechanical key override) and mission critical medications are kept in a “code cart” that is protected by only a breakaway wire tie.) Hence, this is basically critical (but not life safety) by definition. One could interpret the rules slightly differently since it isn't actually in a patient room/exam area and make it equipment, but I would prefer it critical. Worth discussing with your engineering.

Automatic door openers are probably best spec’d as is as equipment unless the door cannot be opened completely at all with reasonable effort by a normal (small) person. This is probably fine as most doors can just be pushed to override and power door openers are not a direct patient care issue (and a waste of backup/critical capacity.) Locks and e/ingress lighting are a different deal and if a powered door must be powered to e/ingress it is life safety. Spec looks right.

The hyperbaric panel is most likely critical I would guess as opposed to life safety, unless the system cannot be depressurized and entered in a power failure. Consult with site engineering or mfg? Should not be equipment as it is obviously essentially to patient care (a human goes inside the thing being controlled.) Eng should make the final call on all this based on site policy. May have its own integral power backup anyhow and often this is spec'd by the mfg.

Re: your transfer question, equipment circuits can be on the "optional" branch of backup power and can be delayed (or shed completely.) All of this should be spec'd by site engineering or if a new facility, the contracting firm. What you are seeing is not unreasonable though., but you can RFI of course.

How easily do they typically get the key for the pyxis?

 

[chrismarcellino]

517.32 “(H) Automatic Doors. Automatically operated doors used for building egress.”

I see. That doesn’t seem to opt out manual operation, so I stand corrected.

 

[mbrooke]

517.32 “(H) Automatic Doors. Automatically operated doors used for building egress.”

I see. That doesn’t seem to opt out manual operation, so I stand corrected.

Thats how I interpret it was well.

Can an AHJ over-ride anything?

 

[chrismarcellino]

How easily do they typically get the key for the pyxis?

Have to have a pharmacy tech bring it up, which could be a while in a big failure. Or just bring the meds up from the basement that they fill the Pyxis with periodically. Again, the really time sensitive meds are in the code cart or already hanging (on battery integral pumps), so not really essentially about would be reason on critical or equipment, as determined by engineering and AHJ.

 

[mbrooke]

Have to have a pharmacy tech bring it up, which could be a while in a big failure. Or just bring the meds up from the basement that they fill the Pyxis with periodically. Again, the really time sensitive meds are in the code cart or already hanging (on battery integral pumps), so not really essentially about would be reason on critical or equipment, as determined by engineering and AHJ.

Makes sense- thanks for all the info

Big failures are chaos.