EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Biomed Databases Generic Equipment Type

I love that suggestion!

How come the IT department can't do that for you, Heather?

When you say SQL database, are you talking about FACTS?

If I were you I would keep your data on your own PC anyway - best keep it well away from "IT", by the sound of things.

I don't really understand your comment about "compatible with Windows XP" - what's not compatible?

The Rigel has good (but limited) data exchange capabilities. But it's not a complete CMMS. Other than that, I know that Neil has had some good results using them. How do you interface it, Neil (which CMMS do you use)?

Suggestions? Why not carry on as you are until you're in a position to move forward using your own resources?

Folk on this forum can only offer so much help. If your own people are the real problem, then there's not much else anyone can say or do.

No sorry the SQL database is what the Rigel 288 data goes onto called MED ebase V2. I'm trying to find a program that will convert Excel to the SQL database, but it does look quite confusing. The Facts system is what the heirachy want to populate and we dont!

The IT department are part of the department of health and we are department of infrastructure so thats where we break down but thats another completely confusing story!

Heather
The conversion is not simple. A database uses tables to store the sets of similar data such as manufacturer, model number etc each with its own table. The it has to know how these relate to each other, this is when human input is needed to set this up. I doubt if an automatic programme can do this.
If the database is set up correctly you then have to just populate the correct tables with the appropriate data. For this the database supplier usually has an input programme where you say6 this dataset is the manufacturer, this one is the model associated with that manufacturer etc.
Can Rigel help you with this?
Or if you are confident enough this Microsoft article might guide you.
Robert

Are you using Rigel Med-eBase, then Heather?

I thought that used .mdf datafiles ... in other words, MS Access.

Or perhaps things have moved on a bit since the last time I saw it (version 1.0, most likely).

As Robert rightly mentions, you need to have details of the various file structures (formats). Doesn't the Rigel literature give any clues?

Meanwhile, are we now saying that what you are actually trying to do is load up your Med-eBase system? OK, how many records do you need to enter? Perhaps you just need to bite on the bullet, and crack on and enter them manually!

But what I would try is to enter a few records directly into Med-eBase, then examine the file created to see if the structure presents itself. I would then export from Excel into another format (.dbf, most likely), then write a bit of xBase code to run the conversion. No doubt there are other ways of doing it, but that would be my first guess.

@Neil:- any information from your end, Neil?

We are using SQL, the CMMS is in-house, one of our technicians wrote all the code. We spoke with Rigel and they cannot integrate their Med-eBase so what we will be doing once we have purchased the Rigel software is upload all the databases to the Rigel including protocols and then linking the results of the Rigel as the data that we will have from them will be in pdf format. Once all this is done (hopefully) this year everytime we do a ppm we will print the label direct from the Rigel printer and replace the old one. The label will contain all the data the enduser requires. Barcode and number, location, PPM date, next due date etc. One machine, One label. AND NO IT DEPARTMENT, really helpful if you have your own server and an excellent coding technician, database designed by and for BME.

Thanks Neil.

Your last point is especially good, I reckon. How many times do we hear about biomeds trying (or rather, being required) to slog on using an inappropriate database system?

We did ask one favour from IT and that was to make the database hospital wide, from any computer in the hospital a work order can be created without the need to log on.

Heather

If you are using the Rigel 288 then you can download the results to a computer and then attach the test results to your chosen database system (FACTS)

The Rigel can download its entire memory to a single text file (ad-hoc), or it can when working in realtime generate pdf's for every test it does, these files can be saved with either the asset or job number in order to link back to the database.

I'm not sure from your post whether your wanting to use medibase or the 'facts' system however so cant offer much more than that.

At the moment Facts is on the network and medibase is on a standalone computer as we are a government department IT will not allow the software to be added to the network so we were wishing to create a spreadsheet using the medibase database.