13/5/2020

Hospital Steam System Reliability

A Best Practices Guide

Spirax Sarco at a glance

World leading steam engineering
EXPERTISE company for over 100 years
Deliver complete energy
SOLUTIONS saving solutions
Achieve current and future
S U STAI NAB I LITY sustainability targets

9 Manufacturing sites 4,040 Employees

38 Operating companies
52 Distributors
36 Customer training centers 1,110 Local service and
sales engineers
188 Local sales offices
Global HQ Cheltenham, UK

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Institutional healthcare needs

 Reliable and stable supply of

Domestic Hot Water
 Reliable and repeatable
process for sterilization of
surgical instruments

Where does poor quality steam come from?

 Steam demand exceeds boiler

firing rate (Carryover)
 Poor drip trapping
◦ Design
◦ Maintenance
 Steam equipment uses
on/off style control valves
 No steam conditioning
equipment installed
 Poor insulation

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Part I

Steam to Hot Water

Heat Exchangers

Domestic Hot Water supply

 Domestic Hot Water (DHW)

supply in a hospital must be
available at all times
 In the COVID-19 environment:
◦ More patients = More DHW load
◦ Greater need for personal
hygiene (hand washing)
 Redundancy of DHW systems
is a must

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What are the consequences of poorly

controlled DHW?
 Loss of DHW might mean
facility closure
◦ Poor patient care
◦ Negative public relations
 Increased transmission of
COVID-19
 DHW below 122⁰F will
facilitate Legionella growth

“Jacksonville hospital reports case of

Legionnaires' disease to health department”
Oct 25,2019

“7 cases of Legionnaires' reported at McLaren

Macomb Hospital within last month” Oct 19, 2019
“Bacteria that causes
Legionnaires' detected “Recent Legionnaires’
in Northport VA
faucets” Sept 25, 2019
disease outbreaks
raise concerns” Dec 4, 2019

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Full Risk Assessment

EasiHeat™ DHW – Incorporating S.I.M.S. technology

 ± 2⁰ of Setpoint
 Energy Efficient Design
 Closed Loop Pump Trap
Design
 Modular
 Small Footprint
 PID Controller Integrates with
BMS

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Hot Water Tanks vs. Skid Mounted DHW Packages

Before After

Part II
Steam Sterilizers

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Reliable and repeatable sterilization process

 Poor quality steam can

produce “wet packs”
 Wet packs are an indication of
an inefficient sterilization
process
◦ Re-pack and re-sterilize
◦ Additional cost
◦ Possible surgical suite
downtime

AAMI ST79 2017 3.3.3 Steam for Sterile Processes

Steam Quality
Facility engineering personnel should ensure steam quality by:
 Monitoring, controlling and documenting the process of generating
steam
 Testing steam against the following critical variables:
◦ Steam dryness between 97% - 100%
◦ Non condensable gases (e.g., air) at a level (less than 3.5%
v/v condensate) that will not impair steam penetration into
sterilization loads
 Maintaining steam traps and boilers/generators

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Critical Essential
Infrastructure
 “Spirax Sarco employees meet
the criteria for Critical
Essential Infrastructure
Workers under the guidance
issued by the Director of the
U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, Cybersecurity &
Infrastructure Security Agency
and the United States
Presidential Policy Directive
(PPD-21, dated 2/13/2020)”

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Questions?

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