As the healthcare facilities sector continues to work hard to boost overall efficiencies, additional economic challenges add pressure to find ways to slash budgets and get the most out of available funds. One such way is through commissioning – tracking building data using start-of-project benchmarks to gauge overall operational efficiencies throughout a life cycle.
An article in the May issue of Health Facilities Management examines the practice of commissioning and discusses how the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) is increasing its efforts to promote this technique to its members as a way to get leaner and more efficient buildings.
In the article, ASHE Executive Director Dale Woodin notes how the industry always has been excellent about identifying performance indicators and then “setting out to improve them.” He says that commissioning expands upon this concept and allows facilities professionals to ensure that buildings are performing the way they are intended and deliver promised value.
The article showcases a commissioning success story at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, which commissioned a central plant project. According to the article, the commissioning of the $53 million bond issue project yielded enormous savings and allowed additional campus-wide facilities projects to be completed without additional funding. Projects included adding 60 new beds, expanding the size of preoperative and post-operative suites, building out a floor of a cancer institute, and buying six acres for future development.
As the article points out, this kind of return on investment is a major reason why healthcare professionals are turning to commissioning in the quest for greater efficiencies.
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