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Last month, MS released its latest revision to the Conditions of Participation, State Operations Manual, and Interpretive Guidelines (COP-SOM). If you haven't spent much time reviewing the SOM, then please note that all items in red indicate revisions. There are lots of updates in the September revision.
Our senior engineer consultant, Harold Blits, contributed to the discussion based upon the SOM updates as follows:
“Of particular interest to us, Physical Environment folks, are the long-awaited updates to A-0724. If you’re a SOM geek like me, you will recall that this standard has been 'under review' for more than 18 months. A-0724 are the requirements for inspection, testing, and maintenance activities (ITM). This standard is applicable to both Equipment Management (clinical equipment) and Utilities Management (plant equipment). Most importantly, this is where you will find the expectations for implementing the Alternate Equipment Maintenance program (AEM). This iteration of the standard includes all the items previously addressed in the CMS S and C memos that were circulated more than a decade ago. On first pass, there are no new expectations beyond the program's documentation requirements and the requirement for 100% adherence to the revised intervals or strategies developed when incorporating equipment into the AEM.
Many of us, especially in the Utilities Management realm, have shied away from implementing an AEM. Honestly, I’ve never understood why my peers are reluctant to adopt the AEM. As skilled labor continues to be difficult to recruit in Facilities Management and, as we continue to see our workforce shrinking due to 'labor productivity' or budgetary constrictions, the AEM provides us latitude in allocating man-hours to non-essential preventive maintenance.
I encourage all of us with clinical engineering or utilities/plant responsibilities to review these revised expectations and begin evaluating how implementing an AEM can help in managing man-hour allocation. The standard still references a 2014 ASHE book on maintaining hospital equipment for utilities management. If you’ve never seen this publication, I would recommend adding it to your library and evaluating how it could help you scale back on some low-risk, non-essential equipment maintenance.”
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