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Joined: Jan 2006
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How about this? We used to get inlet filters for Pari TurboBoy nebulisers ( part no 41E4852 ) for 54p each. Recently we needed to stock up on those and we were charged £2.60 EACH!!! We queried this with Pari and we were told that is the new price!!

Far as I can recall I haven't emigrated to Zimbabwe. wink

Last edited by Jonathan Wells; 01/08/07 1:53 PM.
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Super Hero
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Sounds like a gouge to me, Jonathan (but we really need pictures as well ... how about it then, Huw?). smile


If you don't inspect ... don't expect.
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I think you are going to see this situation getting worse and guess what its all our fault!!!
At a recent meeting the discussion turned to parts costs.
The suppliers informed us that due to competion driving down the cost of equipment and more stuff being taken off contract they arent making the dosh that they need to run their expensive fleets of cars etc.
Therefore they are increasing the cost of parts to us.
Whats worse they only do this if the equipment isnt on a contract, therefore if they maintain kit it loks like they are cheaper due to the lower parts costs, something to look out for when entering into a purchase me thinks!!!
The way arround it is to get an agreement at purchase stage to supply service kits etc at a set price for a set period of time. As always suppliers are more keen to do this prepayment for kit as they may not get the sale otherwise.
Obvously you still end up paying somewhere, but at least there are no supprises in the short : mid term on costs to maintain.


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Super Hero
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My own take on all of this is that if folk are daft enough to "eat" obvious rip-offs, then more fool them (it's only tax-payers' money after all)! For some reason, the notion that manufacturers' original parts must always be used has become entrenched (thereby leaving the door to the gougers wide open). Not so, in my opinion. Those of us on the Dark Side see things from a different perspective. If you think in terms of a better way, you will always find one. smile

Last edited by Geoff Hannis; 03/08/07 4:57 PM. Reason: Rearranged the syntax.

If you don't inspect ... don't expect.
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SLR Offline
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One thing I have found with people buying third party parts is that the time they spend looking for the part way outweighs the cost of the manufacturer part so is NOT cost effective. If you are buying numerous items then fair enough but have a bit of sense please.

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Oh yes, Mr. SLR, and do you make this observation from the perspective of a hospital biomed, company service engineer, or someone paying from his own pocket, I wonder? Let's not forget that this is an international forum, and that not everyone has access to the taxpayers' purse!

Have you looked at the Wall of Shame website? Surely you cannot be happy with the sort of things you see there? smile


If you don't inspect ... don't expect.
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I make my comments from the perspective of a hospital biomed based in a trust with very little spare money. Everyday I see the blatant misuse of the taxpayers money with fellow biomeds wasting hours "researching" to save a few pennies here and there with little concern of the actual hourly cost they are using to do so.

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Super Hero
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I hear you, Mate ... and I "feel your pain", as it were.

Throughout my career (such as it has been), I've been banging on about life-cycle costs of equipment, properly conducted preventive maintenance, spare parts scaling, proper training for users and technicians, decent workshops, full technical information, quality repairs, well-designed equipment management software, the "complete equipment" concept, decent tools and test equipment ... and all the rest.

I have fought the good fight, been fired more than twice, upset countless people along the way, made myself ill ... and all of that too. I have been sneered at for being "the nurses' advocate" (what's wrong with that?), called a "f***ing old woman" (for actually cleaning equipment, no less - I wonder where that tosser is now?), and more unpleasant names that I'd best not repeat here.

Why am I telling you all this? Just to illustrate how heartily sick I am that, here we are in in 2007, and the same old shite is still raining down! Why won't "they" listen, and when will "they" learn? Answer, "never", if my thirty-plus years at it is anything to go by!

Personally, I'm not bitter, just a bit tired, shall we say. I would add a note about something that has changed over the years, though. And that's my own realisation (as a "kit-oriented" type of guy) that the job is not so much about supporting the kit itself, as supporting the people that use the kit! That might sound obvious to some (many), but it took a long time for me to fully grasp it. And it's a worthy cause!

So, what's the answer? Well, it's a long hard road. We just have to keep on doing what we know is right, keep the faith, find contentment in knowing what we do is worthwhile, and keep on fighting the jerks! In a word, maintain our own integrity. And continue to expose the greedy gougers that leech off our backs.

Here endeth the lesson (it is Sunday morning, after all)! smile

Last edited by Geoff Hannis; 05/08/07 6:23 AM. Reason: Minor tweaking.

If you don't inspect ... don't expect.
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Well spoken! or should I say typed?

I am only in first third or my working life so would appreciate any advice on how to deal with the leeches without wrecking the rest of my "hopefully" career.

I love the work and most of the staff and understand that it could be me on that piece of equipment and I want to know it's maintained correctly. My immediate superior is about as much use as a choccy fire guard and actually works less than one.

I regularly feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall especially when I know managers further up the ladder know what's going on and still do nothing about it.

Oh the pain of it all.....

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Super Hero
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You're not alone, Mate. We've all been there, believe me. But as I say, you have to rise above it all and Keep the Faith.

As I've mentioned in earlier threads, at the height of the Second World War, Roosevelt urged his people to "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are". I reckon that's the biomed's mantra!

Finally, if you ever get really fed up, SLA, remember that there are always opportunities for good people on the Dark Side of the Force! smile


If you don't inspect ... don't expect.
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