Safety

Drawings make barrier inspections easier

Hospital Safety Connection, August 30, 2006

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Hospital Safety Connection!

We want to pass along a tidbit that we've heard several times from the field and at industry conferences this year: One of the best ways to track the conditions of your smoke and fire barriers is to keep detailed, updated architectural drawings.

Once you have these drawings, it's easy to compare them to the actual barriers during spot checks to see if any penetrations are present, and if they are, whether crews have filled the holes with appropriate materials.

The blueprints are especially helpful if your hospital uses the JCAHO's optional building maintenance program within the Statement of Conditions, which requires 95% of your smoke barriers to be in working order at any given time.

For more information about the building maintenance program and its scoring advantages, check out our special report on the topic, The JCAHO's building maintenance program: Scoring and compliance tips.



Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Hospital Safety Connection!

    Hospital Safety Center

  • Hospital Safety Center

    Improve compliance with hospital safety standards from The Joint Commission, OSHA, and other regulators with this...

  • Healthcare Life Safety Compliance

    Learn Life Safety Code tips and interpretations for healthcare facilities with this in-depth monthly resource.

  • Hospital Safety Connection

    Stay on top of hospital safety requirements and best practices with our free, fast-paced weekly update.

  • Administering Your OSHA Program

    This course will help an employee new to the role of OSHA safety officer. It gives an overview of OSHA requirements and...

  • Medical OSHA Manual Combo

    Get into compliance with Quality America's OSHA Safety Program Manual and stay in compliance with OSHA Watch Newsletter...

Most Popular

Related Articles