You can start with the number of beds if you like, but I believe that it's better to think in terms of the Asset Register (inventory), or "number of bits of kit". Here's something that I wrote over twenty years ago:-
"In deciding upon an appropriate level of technician deployment, many aspects may need to be considered (including equipment population and complexity, "house policy" and contractual matters, availability of local service contracts at an acceptable level, financial resources, remoteness of location etc.). However, as a starting point and general guide, the following relationship may be found useful:-
2 Techs / AR of 600 entries / 100 beds
(Note: AR refers to Asset Register - the inventory of maintainable items of equipment drawn up to define the biomedical planned maintenance commitment in a particular situation).
That is, assuming that proper planned maintenance is to be practised, then two biomedical equipment engineering technicians at an appropriate level of competence and with a normal range of facilities are generally able to serve around 600 maintainable items of in-service equipment - a workload equating roughly to that of a 100 bed general hospital.
Care needs to be taken in arriving at the Asset Register total. A figure of 600 for a 100 bed hospital may seem low at first, but this dependency may well have been derived from a total "medical equipment" inventory of perhaps 1,000 items if everything is included. Remember that the Asset Register figure is made up from items for which planned maintenance is applicable or is a foreseeable requirement; many minor items of "medical equipment" do not fall within this category, and many other maintainable, but minor items, will be grouped together for maintenance."When it comes to budgeting, to do the job properly, you need to start from first principles. Something along the lines of:-
1) Ensure you have an accurate Asset Register!
2) Assert that you are going to conduct proper PM on all bits of kit.
3) Decide upon PM intervals (6-monthly, annually).
4) Work out the times for each PM (average, if you like).
5) Multiply it all up to arrive at how many hours will be spent on PM each year.
6) Decide how much of technicians' time PM will represent (start at half, the other half to be spent on repairs, "PR" and all the rest).
7) Arrive at how many techs you need, then multiply by salary plus overheads
etc.8) Make up a wish-list of the tools and test equipment you think you'll need, then get it priced.
9) Consider your policy regarding spare parts. Whatever you decide, you will need a certain amount of "service consumables" and "generic items". Get those priced.
10) Consider contracts with outside service providers (as John mentions). If everything is contracted out, you'll need just the one guy (yourself, presumably) to manager them! In principle, it doesn't matter who maintains the kit (as long as it
is maintained)!
11) Add in the cost of the workshop, offices
etc. if applicable.
12) Do your sums ... and there's your budget. Obviously, the cost of stuff like tools and test equipment needs to be spread over ten years or so. If it comes in
p.a. at around 10% of the replacement value of all the kit, then you can be sure it's in the right ball-park.
... should be enough to be going on with.
