Engineering and maintenance play a critical role in ensuring the smooth operation of healthcare facilities. Hospitals are complex environments with various interconnected systems, including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning).
A well-designed engineering and maintenance unit ensures that these systems function efficiently, reducing downtime and preventing disruptions to patient care.
How It Impacts Patient Safety and Hospital Efficiency
- Uninterrupted Medical Services – Properly maintained hospital infrastructure ensures that critical equipment such as ventilators, imaging devices, and life-support systems function without failure.
- Infection Control – HVAC systems help maintain air quality, controlling the spread of airborne infections in hospitals. Well-maintained plumbing and waste disposal systems prevent contamination.
- Fire and Electrical Safety – Engineering teams ensure compliance with fire safety codes, maintain backup power systems (such as generators), and minimize risks associated with faulty wiring.
- Operational Efficiency – A well-structured maintenance plan reduces downtime and enhances the hospital’s ability to provide uninterrupted patient care, ultimately leading to cost savings and improved service delivery.
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1) Introduction
i) General
All facilities, no matter how large or small, will require environmental support services in the form of:
- Maintenance services
- Engineering
- Cleaning services
- Waste disposal
- Gardening services
- Storage
ii) Description
A Maintenance Service shall be provided. It may be in-house or contracted, with an on-call repair service. The complexity of the services provided by the facility will dictate the nature and extent of the Maintenance Service required.
The Maintenance Service is provided to effect preventative maintenance and repairs to all elements of the facility, from the building fabric to items of specialist equipment.
Areas that require a 24 hour per day, 7 day per week ‘on-call’ maintenance service are:
- Medical gases and suction systems
- Lifts
- Fire systems
- Bio-electronic equipment
- Any life-support systems
- Emergency power systems
- Boiler plant
- Telecommunications systems including PA, EWIS and Nurse Call
The potential life threatening nature of the failure of any of the above systems justifies a 24 hour service.
2) Planning of Engineering & maintenance unit
i) Functional Areas
The Engineering and Maintenance Unit may consist of the following Functional Areas dependent on the Operational Policy and service demand:
- Workshop areas which may include separate areas for carpentry, mechanical, plumbing and electrical services
- Storage areas for all specialty services/trades including paint, gardening and flammable liquids
- Office area for administrative and clerical activities
- Staff amenities which may be shared
Electronics Workshop
A separate workshop may be provided specifically for the storage, repair and testing of electronic and other medical equipment.
The amount of space and type of utilities will vary with the type of equipment involved and types of service and maintenance contracts used.
Engineer’s Office
If on-staff, an Engineer’s Office shall be provided with file space and provision for protected storage of facility drawings, records and manuals.
Gardener’s Facilities
A room or shed shall be provided for the storage of all the necessary gardening equipment and material. Depending upon the size of the grounds team provision of a Head Gardener’s office, hand-washing facilities, toilet and showering facilities should be considered.
Storage Areas
A storage room shall be provided for the storage of building maintenance supplies. Storage for solvents and flammable liquids shall comply with relevant statutory requirements.
Workshop Areas
A general maintenance Workshop shall be provided for repair and maintenance. Sufficient space is required for a workbench, drill press, angle grinder, stainless steel trough, tool peg board, storage cabinets.
Floor space is also required for the standing of equipment during repairs. Adequate lighting, power and ventilation are required. Note: If Maintenance Services are externally contracted, then a Workshop is not required.
Maintenance workshops incorporating carpentry, metal fabrication, plumbing, refrigeration or other noise generating trades shall be acoustically isolated from non-maintenance areas. Please refer to “Acoustic Solutions for Healthcare Facilities”
ii) Functional Relationships
The Engineering & Maintenance Unit should be located on the ground floor to facilitate delivery and despatch of heavy items of equipment. Access to a loading dock is desirable. The Unit will require ready access to all areas of the hospital and in particular, to plant rooms and areas.
Depending on the size of the Unit and the Operational Policy, considerable noise and fumes may be generated by the Unit and care should be taken in locating the Unit relative to other units such as Inpatient Accommodation Units.
3) Components of the Unit
i) Standard Components
The Engineering and Maintenance Unit will consist of Standard Components. Provide Standard Components to comply with details in Standard Components in these Guidelines. Refer also to Standard Components Room Data Sheets.
4) Schedule of Accommodation
Engineering & Maintenance Unit Generic Schedule of Accommodation
The following Generic Schedule of Accommodation is for a typical Engineering & Maintenance Unit in a Level 4 Hospital with 120 Beds and a range of diagnostic and treatment facilities. This schedule assumes that all services are provided in-house.
Note: For maximum functionality, some of the workshop areas should be combined into one large area.
Please note the following:
- Areas noted in Schedules of Accommodation take precedence over all other areas noted in the FPU.
- Rooms indicated in the schedule reflect the typical arrangement according to the Role Delineation.
- Exact requirements for room quantities and sizes will reflect Key Planning Units identified in the service plan and the policies of the Unit.
- Room sizes indicated should be viewed as a minimum requirement; variations are acceptable to reflect the needs of individual Unit.
- Office areas are to be provided according to the Unit role delineation and staffing establishment.
- Staff and support rooms may be shared between Functional Planning Units dependant on location and accessibility to each unit and may provide scope to reduce duplication of facilities.
5) Functional Relationship Diagram
Engineering & Maintenance Unit Functional Relationship Diagram
