EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Spare Parts Class II EST

Hi all
Seems that after the conversation i just had with a sales rep, the misguided notion that class 2 equipment requires no safety testing is endemnic. It would seem to me that some people c/o out 'automated'EST without knowledge of what they are actually doing. Surely if Class 2 devices require no EST then why is such facility built into the 601 / Rigel etc. Are such people just assuming all is well internally? i.e. the double insulation is intact?
Tony

What about applied parts?
And it you read up the correct way to do the way you test, you will see there is a way to do the eclosure leakage. It is measured with an area of foil pressed against the case representing the palm in case there is capacitive or inductive coupling.
There does seem to be a dangerous attitude that if you cannot clip the test probe on you do not bneed to do the test.
My other concern is with people who do earth continuity tests to the earth stud. What about continuity to the cover you just removed????
Robert

It's all part of a devilish plan to "dumb down" biomed! All automatic electrical safety testers should be withdrawn or disabled!

Surely you haven't missed recent comments on the forum suggesting that some kit doesn't need to be PM'd at all?

People who say that Class II kit doesn't need to be EST'd clearly need to be shown the door (which should be the default action for sales reps, anyway)! Likewise people who talk about a two-year maintenance interval for infusion devices.

I thought that the main arguement against testing class 2 equipment is that they almost never fail. Most of the electrical problems are easily picked up during a visual inspection.

According to the MRHA (a few years ago) a greater percentage of all problems reported are introduced by equipment being worked on than are found in EST.

having said that we still test.

Lee

Patient safety (and especially electrical safety) is the raison d'être of biomed!

Anyone who does not sign up to (or, perhaps, has forgotten) this core belief may expect to be visited shortly, in order that they may reap the benefits of a period of "re-training"!

What type of foil would you recommend? As we have not got any foil would cling film be ok ??

If you can't scrounge up a bit of "kitchen foil" from one of your mates' sandwich boxes, I have also seen people using a suitably sized piece of sheet aluminium, or even an old diathermy (ESU) patient return plate.

That is because people do not test them correctly.
Anyway almost is not never.

I think that most electical failure is either caused by rough handling or incorrect replacing of parts rather than breakdown of insulation due to age.
But when do we do ESTs? After delivery by a courier, being dropped by the user - rough handling - or after we have taken them apart.
If we are doing the test when they are most likely to fail we should be doing them right. As for a yearly tests - well if you have the time to spare and nothing better to do......
Robert

There's no problem with doing yearly EST. It's part of PM, after all.

I agree with you, Robert - this has certainly been "custom and practice" for many of us; but I've been trying to find a link (or other source) I can point others to for that one. No luck so far. Any clues?