Brazing Procedure – Practice Makes Perfect

October 21, 2011/0 Comments/in Medical Gas Training / by Cary Darden

As part of the ASSE 6010 Medical Gas Installer Course, proper brazing procedures are taught.

It is rare that an individual will braze a successful horizontal and vertical coupon on the first try.  Reasons for failure include:

-Improper sequence of feeding the rod into the coupling

– Improper amount of heat to cause the melted rod material to flow to the center of the coupling by capillary action, or the proper amount of heat in the wrong place on the coupling (i.e. the edge of the coupling is hotter than the center of the coupling).

– Improper position of the rod while feeding it into the coupling.

– Improper position of the torch while heating the coupling/piping assembly and while feeding the rod into the edge of the coupling.

– Improper amount of rod being fed into the edge of the coupling (not enough rod to fill the coupling).

-Improper amount of time spent doing the coupling.

We recommend practicing the procedure prior to attending an exam session. We offer a DVD of the brazing procedure, available in English or Spanish, for $20.00 plus applicable taxes and shipping costs. We can send a DVD to you at anytime.

EMGS has an almost perfect pass rate for students taking the practical brazing exam, and this is directly related to our method.  Please contact us at 770-459-5920 if you wish to become certified to install medical gas, or would like to order a DVD on the correct brazing procedure.

2012 NFPA 99 MEDICAL GAS MAINTENANCE TRAINING QUALIFICATIONS

October 18, 2011/0 Comments/in Medical Gas Training News / by Cary Darden

The 2012 edition of NFPA 99 has added a new paragraph section for medical gas maintenance programs (Para. 5.1.14.2.2). Schedules for these maintenance programs are to be established by the individuals responsible for risk assessment in the facilities, in conjunction with the equipment manufacturer’s recommendations. Inspection procedures should be in place for each facility to insure that these schedules are being followed to maintain an appropriate level of patient care and to avoid costly equipment failures.

There are some recommendations for inspection and testing operations for specific pieces of medical gas equipment, as well as suggested intervals for these operations to occur. The 2012 edition of NFPA 99 has also addressed qualifications for persons maintaining these types of systems, suggesting three ways in which appropriate qualifications can be demonstrated. These ways include training and certification through the health care facility, credentialing to the requirements of ASSE 6030, and/or credentialing to the requirements of ASSE 6040. While actual “hands on training” is a very important factor in qualifying maintenance personnel, the ASSE standards raise awareness in many areas of safety, documentation, and procedures which could otherwise be overlooked.

EMGS has been conducting classes for compliance with the ASSE standards for several years in a facility designed to insure these issue are addressed. Contact Terri Clayton at terri@emgsi.com for further information on training your maintenance personnel, and obtaining the ASSE 6040 credential.