Williams Medical Supplies (WMS) has cut by more than three-quarters the time taken to test the safety of hundreds of ECG machines by using Rigel Medical 288 electrical safety analysers.
WMS provides medical supplies and services to more than 8,500 GP practices throughout the UK, including their test and calibration service.
Using the Rigel 288 has enabled the company's 18-strong team of technicians to save an average of 25mins when testing the electrical safety of ECG machines.
Previously, it used to take 30mins to complete a test but this can now be achieved in five minutes - an 80 per cent time saving.
The team also uses the Rigel 288 to safe test thousands of other electrically powered items of equipment used by GPs and nurses including defibrillators, patient monitors and ear syringes.
In 2007, WMS decided to replace its existing electrical safety testers with the smaller and more lightweight handheld 288s.
Following this, technicians have been able to significantly increase the amount of equipment they test on a daily basis, which can be upwards of 40 individual items.
Hugh Hamer, head of medical services at WMS, estimates that technicians are overall now operating 15 per cent more efficiently when it comes to testing all types of medical equipment thanks to the portability and time-saving benefits of the 288.
WMS currently uses 10 288s but is looking to increase this in 2010 because of its performance.
It also uses other Rigel instruments for SpO2 device testing and Seaward Primetest 350s for PAT testing of non-medical equipment such as televisions, kitchen appliances and PCs.
The Rigel 288 incorporates easy-to-follow menu-driven instructions for simple operation and test control of all IEC 62353 required electrical safety tests in manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic test modes.
Available as part of a special test kit is the new battery operated Test 'n Tag Elite printer, which provides a way to generate tamperproof barcode pass/fail labels or result print-outs.
The Elite printer also has the additional ability to design and print customised logos or contact details on every label printed.
This gives a clear indication of the electrical safety of the medical equipment and is a simple way of providing contact details in the event of unexpected service requirements.
Each label offers a cost effective way of enhancing customer service.
The Elite can also be used with thermal paper for on-the-spot printing of test results using the industry standard 50mm wide paper.
For traceability and safety audit purposes, wireless connection also means that data from the Rigel 288's large internal memory can be transferred from the tester to PC-based record-keeping systems at the touch of a button.
