OPTIMIZE TR SYSTEMS WITH INTEGRATED
POWER MANAGEMENT
To optimize critical server equipment in hospital TRs,
monitor power and environmental conditions at the rack
level (Figure 7). Collecting data at this level provides
the granularity to visualize exactly where equipment
is being overutilized or underutilized. Often, there is
stranded capacity and underutilized equipment that
can be retired or consolidated. Simply stated, a racklevel
remote monitoring solution turns measured data
into visual, intuitive, actionable information. Invest
in intelligent power distribution units with integrated
environmental monitoring and access control to:
• Achieve more granular, complete visibility, helping
to take concrete steps to reduce power consumption.
• Remotely reboot hung equipment and monitor at the
device level.
• Monitor for water, smoke, gases, access, temperature,
humidity, pressure and other factors to minimize
hardware failures.
• Meet regulatory compliance of data security per the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
of 1996 (HIPAA).
FIGURE 7: Integrated power management with access control
at the rack helps to monitor power and environmental conditions,
reduces power consumption, and minimizes hardware failures
to optimize critical server equipment in hospitals and health-
care facilities.
64 I ICT TODAY
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, BUILDING
CODES AND CRITICAL EQUIPMENT
One of the most important goals for those designing
and building healthcare facilities is meeting the International
Building Code’s (IBC) Risk Category IV criteria,
which states that hospitals, including their nonstructural
components, are critical and must be designed to stay
operational even during natural disasters and
other emergencies.
According to the 2018 Hospital Construction Survey,
which is conducted annually by the American Society
for Healthcare Engineering’s (ASHE’s) Health Facilities
Management (HFM) magazine, “89% of hospital facility
professionals consider resiliency, ability to withstand natural
disasters and power outages, some of the most critical
components in the design of new healthcare facilities.”
Critical Facilities Requirements
Natural disasters are unpredictable and uncontrollable,
so preparedness and enacting preventative measures
within the healthcare facility are key.
In the past few years, there have been many hurricanes
and other natural disasters that have swept the
U.S. In many cases, smaller hospitals were required to
transfer patients to larger more robust buildings or to
other nearby hospitals.
To ensure operation during flooding and hurricanes,
TIA-569-D 6.3.8 requires that TRs must be located above
water level, unless preventative measures against water
infiltration are employed. The TR must be free of water
or drain pipes not directly required in support of the
equipment within the room. A floor drain with a backflow
preventer must be provided within the room if
risk of water ingress exists.
There are unique architectural and engineering challenges
when building in seismically active areas. Seismic
events are not limited to the state of California; earthquakes
take place every day throughout the world.
According to the Incorporated Research Institutions
for Seismology (IRIS), a consortium of universities dedicated
to researching seismological data, magnitude 2
and smaller earthquakes can occur hundreds of times
a day worldwide, while major earthquakes with magnitudes
greater than 7 happen more than once a month.