CHFM - Certified Healthcare Facility Manager Maintenance and Operations Flashcards

What is the primary purpose of a preventive maintenance (PM) program in a healthcare facility?

Answer: To perform scheduled maintenance before failure occurs, reducing unplanned downtime and extending equipment life

A PM program schedules regular maintenance activities before failures occur, improving reliability, extending equipment life, reducing emergency repairs, and maintaining regulatory compliance with NFPA and TJC requirements.

Which type of maintenance is performed after an equipment failure has occurred?

Answer: Corrective (reactive) maintenance

Corrective maintenance (also called reactive maintenance or run-to-failure) is performed after an equipment failure to restore it to operational condition.

In a hospital's CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System), what information is typically captured in a work order?

Answer: Asset ID, work description, labor hours, parts used, technician assigned, and completion date

A CMMS work order captures comprehensive information about each maintenance task: the asset involved, description of work performed, time spent, materials used, responsible technician, priority, status, and completion date.

What does 'mean time between failures' (MTBF) measure for healthcare building equipment?

Answer: The average time a piece of equipment operates between breakdowns, indicating its reliability

MTBF measures equipment reliability by calculating the average time between failures. A higher MTBF indicates more reliable equipment; tracking MTBF over time can reveal deterioration and help predict when replacement is warranted.

In healthcare facilities, which environmental control is critical for maintaining proper pressure relationships in an operating room?

Answer: Positive pressure relative to adjacent areas, preventing outside contaminants from entering

Operating rooms must maintain positive pressure relative to corridors and adjacent spaces, so that clean supply air flows outward, preventing contaminants from the less-clean corridor from entering the sterile field.

What is the purpose of performing a megohm (insulation resistance) test on electrical motors in a healthcare facility?

Answer: To detect insulation degradation that could lead to motor failure or electrical fault

A megohmmeter applies high DC voltage to measure the resistance of motor winding insulation. Declining insulation resistance indicates moisture intrusion, contamination, or thermal degradation, allowing planned replacement before catastrophic failure.