By Healthcare Facilities Today

In a recent Q&A on the Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine website, manufacturers Tom Boyle of Fike and Sean Goings of Schneider Electric shared ideas for hospital and healthcare facility success.

CSE: What types of tools do you recommend for hospitals and health care facilities? What should be in every engineer’s “toolbox”?

Boyle: From a life safety prospective, a responsive service organization that can support all aspects of a safety plan. Access to multiple factory-certified engineered systems distributors with certified technicians that can quickly respond and resolve system issues.

Goings: Engineers should look to collaborative design processes that foster the early involvement of infrastructure and technology expertise. Most of the equipment installed in the built environment will remain in place for the life of the facility, so efficiency, reliability, and scalability are critical to total cost of ownership. Progressive design practices also help fill the gaps left in the typical construction process. It’s important to harness the technical competency of each infrastructure system to share functional information that drives efficiencies.

Read the Q&A.