medical facilities Archives

When you call for heating and cooling help, it’s not uncommon to see your technician taking notes while merely looking at equipment. And yes, visual checks can be a starting point, but when it comes to ensuring the health of your HVAC system, it’s almost always necessary to go further. Here’s how a combustion analysis goes beyond the standard visual check to discover the true status of your heating system.

What is a Combustion Analysis?

A combustion analysis is a series of tests that are performed to measure the efficiency of your gas furnace; it can also bring important safety considerations to light. By measuring the Oxygen (O2), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), and Carbon Monoxide (CO) levels in your HVAC system, we can determine where there are deficiencies, let you know how you can lower utility costs, mitigate safety issues, and give you a road map for future maintenance.

picture of a gas furnace combustion analysis

Could It Be a Combustion Problem?

If you’ve got a persistent HVAC problem, it’s likely that this isn’t the first time you’ve had to make a service call. But it’s possible that a previous maintenance visit – or visits, for that matter – didn’t give you the answers that you needed. A combustion analysis goes in-depth to help diagnose the hairline cracks or leaks that are impacting the efficiency and safety of your system. Do any of these symptoms sound familiar to you?

The space isn’t heating properly. If locations from essential community spaces to classrooms don’t seem to be heating properly, whether that’s manifesting in uneven distribution of air or what feels like too much or too little of the desired conditions, it could be an issue with your O2/CO2 levels. A combustion analysis can give you more insight into why this is happening, and how urgent the issue at hand is.

It’s too drafty. If your building only seems to give you the chilly half of what you’d expect from a full-service HVAC system, and draws comments and concerns from occupants, then it could be time for a combustion analysis. An underlying issue with a gas furnace can be smoked out with a combustion analyzer that will take the internal temperature from the flue pipe, and make sure everything is within recommended limits.

Utility bills are too high. This means the gas furnace isn’t operating efficiently. This could be happening for a number of reasons and combustion analysis can help rule some of them out. Sometimes, it may even help us figure out that it’s not the system, but rather system controls that need to be reprogrammed.

How Can I Be Sure That My Building is Safe?

Once you complete the combustion analysis, you’ll know if there are any issues related to over-firing, under-firing, smoke spots, condensation and heightened risk for leaks. Your HVAC maintenance team will also take factors like ambient air temperature and stack temperature into consideration, and look for high flame temperatures and effective air-fuel mixing as signals of a healthy heating system.

Are you concerned that your service visits have resulted in visual checks with little to no proof of what work was done, and why conclusions were made? We’ve seen this happen all too often. Give us a call or contact us to see if you qualify for a no-cost site visit.

To say that medical facilities, like hospitals and clinics, have unique HVAC maintenance requirements would be a vast understatement. Facility managers not only keep equipment running smoothly, they help their staff stay focused on top priorities, and balance requests from patients, staff, doctors, and visitors.

When it comes to juggling these responsibilities, and ultimately achieving better patient care, how can medical facilities utilize HVAC service partners to complement and strengthen their existing capabilities? Read more to learn how a 923-bed medical center serving Northern Virginia did just this.

Complex is an Understatement

Medical facilities are fast-paced environments with specialized HVAC design, repair, and maintenance requirements. Unlike other facilities, these heating and cooling systems must be capable of operating 24/4/7, providing comfort to patients, staff, and visitors. Maintaining a system this complex can put a great deal of pressure on an organization whose priority is patient care.

HVAC management procedures are rarely straightforward. Medical facilities experience an increased level of demand for resource allocation and frequent staff turnover. Moreover, time constraints can make it difficult to maintain complete records on a facility’s equipment inventory and the condition it’s in.

This is why many medical facilities look to mechanical service partners to fill in the gaps created by overtaxed internal operations. With their expertise and team of technicians, service partners like Trimark Mechanical can help support, map out, or guide an HVAC maintenance plan unique to your medical facility.

Trimark Mechanical Steps in to Close the Gaps

One of our clients is a 923-bed medical center in Northern Virginia serving the Washington DC Metro community and beyond. Initially, our team was asked to replace filters on a regularly scheduled basis, but in time, and as they continued to fight to effectively balance internal resources with their HVAC maintenance and repair requirements, they requested Trimark Mechanical come on as a recurrent partner to provide HVAC repair and replacement services. By enlisting our help, they aimed to keep up their HVAC running smoothly as well as tackle some larger-scale issues.

One such issue was wrangling the nitty-gritty details on their entire HVAC system. As a result of decades of expansion, the client’s HVAC systems were highly segmented and scattered throughout the facility. Part of the work that needed to be done was to gather an accurate inventory of the facility’s equipment and evaluate its condition. Not only would this help with plans for maintenance and repair, but it would also help in situations where spaces needed to be repurposed to adapt to new needs. This exact situation happened when an old space was converted into a doctor’s office and ductwork had to be extended from existing equipment.

Additionally, having an accurate inventory of equipment was a critical step in institutionalizing maintenance history. Setting up a central source of information like this would be a way to seamlessly communicate a holistic view of their HVAC system with the entire team. This way, knowledge wouldn’t be limited to only one or two staff members.

If handling resource allocation, employee turnover, and administrative changeover weren’t enough, our client was also managing requests from different stakeholders and how to prioritize work accordingly. Again, Trimark was asked to help amplify the client’s abilities in order to keep all parties involved comfortable, as efficiently as possible.

To date, we’ve helped the client not only with maintenance but repair and replacement projects such as:

Replacing motors and compressors.

Installing and extending ductwork and adding or repairing in-line duct heaters.

Replacing steam coils in air handler units.

Replacing mission-critical computer room HVAC equipment.

Over the last four years, we’ve established a trusted partnership with our client. They have the confidence that we can maintain a sophisticated HVAC system, but more importantly, they know we’re there to help navigate the challenges they face.

While many medical facilities share common challenges, no two facilities are ever the same. If you’re considering making some changes to how your team keeps your HVAC running smoothly, here are a few key questions to ask:

Are the gaps in your current capabilities? Based on your staffing levels and other specific challenges, you can assess if there are areas of repair or maintenance that could be handled by an extension of your team, like Trimark, so that you can focus on top priorities.

Who in your facility is comfortable and happy, and who isn’t? Helping your medical facility achieve its mission involves balancing needs of various stakeholders. It could be that some added “muscle” would help quickly tackle requests or simply assist with task overflow.

What equipment is on the verge of repair or replacement? If you’re knowledgeable about some or all of your system’s equipment, figure out which are the closest to needing a repair or replacement and if you’ll need guidance or help.

By asking questions like these, many medical facilities come to the conclusion that it’s beneficial to find a mechanical services partner to complement their existing workflow. From there, it’s a matter of finding a company to work with that can do just this: adapt to shifting needs, fill in where staff needs help, and, if necessary, help inform decisions on major equipment replacement.

An Extension of Your Own Staff

Our client’s experience revealed that partnering with a mechanical service provider helped them achieve better patient care. There’s not a ‘one-size fits all’ solution for medical facilities, and we’re happy to discuss just how joining forces can help keep patients, doctors, and staff comfortable and happy.

If you’re like many business owners and organization leaders, you know that preventative maintenance is necessary but may not be confident that maintenance is being performed properly. Since HVAC systems are complex, determining the credibility and thoroughness of one contract or service provider versus another can be challenging. This is why it’s essential that you have a clear idea of what legitimate preventive maintenance should look like. Read more to learn how you can ensure preventative maintenance improves and maintains the performance and longevity of your HVAC system.

What You Already Know About Regular Preventative Maintenance

Regular preventative maintenance is beneficial for several reasons. Perhaps the main advantage is that routine service checks find problems before they turn into expensive repairs. But there are other benefits, related to both comfort and cost when it comes to performing regular maintenance tasks. For example preventative maintenance:

Ensures Reliability – Your system ideally should be checked at least twice in the year. Once before the heating season and one more time before the cooling season begins. This will guarantee your system is in optimal condition before the peak usage months of the year.

Reduces Energy Costs – Your HVAC is probably one of your top energy expenses. When the system is thoroughly cleaned and maintained, energy costs will decrease while indoor comfort increases.

Improves Indoor Air Quality – HVAC systems impact our ability to breathe indoors. Preventative maintenance should include cleaning your equipment’s accumulated allergens like dust, dirt, and pollen for the cleanest and highest-quality indoor air possible.

Maintains Cost-Effectiveness. An HVAC system is a large expense and thorough preventative maintenance is critical to protect that investment. Investing in preventative maintenance is minimal compared to expensive repairs or replacements on systems that aren’t regularly maintained.

What You May Not Know: The Proof is in the Pudding

Not even sure what a good preventative maintenance visit should cover? Take a look at a recent preventative maintenance visit we completed for a long-time, happy customer.

Trimark Mechanical Preventative Maintenance Report

Comprehensive preventative maintenance is more than just a ‘tune-up’ or visual inspection. Simply looking at the quality of an HVAC system is far from enough to ensure it’s running well. There should never be guesswork involved when determining its health status.

You Need To Know About Potential Issues

You should always receive clear and simple communication to know where exactly you stand with your equipment’s condition and if to expect repairs or replacements. When potential issues are detected, they should be responded to and resolved immediately to avoid untimely system failure. Leading mechanical service providers will even go the extra mile by providing photographic evidence of individual system components to show their physical condition and wear from usage over time.

A Checklist Isn’t The Same As Proof

Most mechanical services first will have no problem providing a thorough task checklist. How do you know, though, that technicians are truly utilizing a task-by-task list during scheduled maintenance visits? Simply checking the box isn’t enough. That’s why Trimark Mechanical provides photos that show you before and after on equipment as well as any specific measurements that provide proof of a properly functioning HVAC system.

Here’s what should set off a red flag, if you see it in your maintenance report:

(Anyone can check a box! Also, your filters should be getting REPLACED twice a year.)

Here’s what you’ll see on our reports:

Seeing is believing!

Just to drive the point home, here’s another example. A standard report may have something like this merely handwritten in:

(Anyone can pencil in a number on a report!)

Here’s what will show up on a Trimark report:

Trimark Keeps You Comfortable and Happy Year After Year

Are you not sure if your service partner is providing you with quality information? At Trimark Mechanical, we strive to keep your equipment running efficiently and be your trusted partner for any critical issues or replacements. Our job is to provide photographic proof of what’s been completed during maintenance visits and we aim to uncover problems before they become emergencies.

Contact us today and ask about our comprehensive annual maintenance agreement.

Maintaining a comfortable environment in your facility is critical.

Still, many building managers find themselves unexpectedly facing system failure or extended downtime. Why? Because their system wasn’t designed with redundancies, or multiple, separated levels of operation.

Learn more by downloading the infographic.

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A slew of calls from disgruntled tenants on the first 90-degree day of the season is any facility manager’s worst nightmare. Keeping your building comfortable is a top priority. You don’t have time for critical HVAC issues that have been overlooked by sloppy “visual checks.” No matter what you’ve been told, there’s no way to properly diagnose HVAC concerns just by looking at the equipment.

A great mechanical services firm won’t skip over the details. At Trimark Mechanical, our methodical, proactive maintenance keeps your space comfortable while saving money and avoiding costly, unexpected repairs.

Consider a task as seemingly simple as coil cleaning. Kathleen Gaw, General Manager of Trimark shares how oversight can cause major issues:

“Coil cleaning is a major maintenance issue for many property managers. Coils get dirty and blocked over time. However, many low-cost service contractors often exclude this item from maintenance contracts to keep costs down. The fact is, coil cleaning needs to be done at least once a year. If coils aren’t cleaned annually, other major components are greatly stressed, frequently to the point of failure.”

That’s not the least of it. Thorough inspection, including basic testing, is required to determine the condition of each of the major components. Compressors, motors, and solid state boards can’t be visually checked for proper operation. Trimark tests and records readings of each of these components, comparing the result to the manufacturer’s specifications.

Asset managers know that a reliable HVAC system shouldn’t come at the expense of premium square footage. What they may not know is that retrofitting a facility doesn’t have to be a long, complicated, and costly project. At Trimark Mechanical, we specialize in a number of modern solutions that not only preserve space, but create a comfortable environment without large, upfront expenses.

Four Reasons to Update Your Systems

Modern HVAC systems, like the modular split system, utilize technology that makes managing comfort in your facility straightforward and simple. Here’s how:

Zone-controlled temperatures can keep everyone more comfortable. Some people like it hot, some like it cooler. You can deliver fine-tuned comfort in your building with the zone controls available in a modular system.
Take back valuable space. With a footprint that’s a fraction of the size of its predecessors, modular systems can free up square footage for other uses.
Save money by avoiding an oversized system. Modular systems can be right-sized to your needs today, and can scale in the future. This means you can lessen your expenses over the entire system lifecycle and add to the system when the time is right.
Earn points toward LEED certification. We’re familiar with the efficiency and control requirements to help you qualify to earn up to two points toward LEED certification.