Downtime is not an option in healthcare.
Patients, physicians, and institutions depend on critical infrastructure remaining online at all times. Because of the high-stakes nature of the industry, equipment and system failures can be absolutely catastrophic. Facility leads and technicians must be aware of how every machine is operating at any given moment.
In the medical field, “critical infrastructure” consists of two main types of heavy equipment: biomedical equipment and facilities equipment.
Biomedical equipment describes the flashy, well-known machines and systems that serve on the front lines of patient care. Medical imaging, lab work, surgery, and patient monitoring all rely in some form or fashion on biomedical equipment.
Every year, healthcare organizations invest enormous capital in this area. According to a 2017 study, the U.S. spends nearly $20B annually on medical technology R&D. Consequently, we tend to hear about the latest and greatest innovations related to MRI machines, X-rays, or other diagnostic tools in the press.