Medical Gas Training

When you have a hospital of any age it is likely that you probably have outlets manufactured by more than one company. When this happens you may get outlet repair parts mixed up especially in the case of Amico and Beacon (Series B) style outlets. If you’ve ever rebuilt the latch valve of one of these outlets and noticed that you fixed the leak but created a flow problem (low or no flow) the reason is because of the dust cap used by Amico and Beacon Medaes.

At first glance they appear to be identical, but upon further inspection you will notice subtle differences in each one. Amico has two different styles that come in their standard repair kit, a white cap and a gray cap. The gray cap can be put aside because we are talking specifically about Ohmeda/Medaes Diamond style quick connect outlets. The gray dust cap is specifically for Chemetron (Allied Healthcare) style vacuum inlets.

In the picture below you will note a couple of key differences. The front of the Beacon Medaes dust cap has three lines that meet in the middle to form a triangle. The Amico dust cap is flat with no texture. If you look at the back you will notice another key difference and this is what can cause flow issues. The Amico has a raised portion on the inside front of the dust cap, but the raised portion is solid. The Beacon Medaes dust cap also has a raised portion but it is hollow and has a hole in the middle, this allows the brass poppet to seat slight further within the barrel than on the Amico latch valve. That is why mixing the dust caps can cause no flow issues when Amico dust caps are used on Beacon Medaes outlets.

The moral of the story is be sure to keep your outlet parts segregated and use the appropriate manufacturer repair parts for each individual outlet or inlet.

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.

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.

Effective Immediately EMGS, Inc. offers ASSE 6000 Series training courses through a third party testing organization called National Inspection Testing Certification (NITC). NITC credentials are recognized in every state. NITC recently revised their candidate bulletins.

The most notable changes are the minimum passing scores for an ASSE 6010 Installer, which has increased from a 75% to a 77%, and the minimum passing score for an ASSE 6020 Inspector, which has gone from an 85% to an 80%. Also, the applications used to sign up for exams have been revised.

We have updated our website to reflect these changes, and all of the new candidate bulletins and applications can be found at www.nationalitc.com. Prior to signing up for any classes, it is beneficial to review the candidate bulletins and application procedures. We are always available to assist with your questions or concerns regarding these matters.