Contractors hired by the local utility have handled installation of new fixtures for all of the Orlando Health projects, but the situation still presented challenges for the hospital's engineering staff.
"Our engineering (staff) oversees the patients' safety, and how they mobilize throughout the facility to coordinate with patient carriers, nurses, and anybody that might be in the area where the scope of work would be performed, so it's a big collaboration," says Perez, who adds that the engineering staff oversees the contractors to ensure that the work performed is up to regulatory standards.
The nature of the operations at a hospital requires special attention for many projects, and lighting is no exception.
"The primary focus of all the retrofits is the corridors," Perez says. "It's the highest point of traffic, and we can't block per code for any substantial amount of time.
"Doing these lighting retrofits requires tending to units for infection-control measures, to ensure there is no particles or dust that might flow throughout the areas.
"It's a long process just to change one light because it requires such a significant amount of work. In some of these units, setting up a ladder seems pretty simple. But being in a hospital, there are patient-care areas, so we have to set up containment units, and that blocks a lot more real estate and main corridors. So we have to perform that on the off hours and obviously be observant of sounds and echoes throughout the facilities."
2011 Lighting Retrofit Lit Way for Future Energy Savings
Lighting Project Provides Challenges for Maintenance Staff at Health Care Facility
