Unlock Your Equipment's Hidden Expiration Date
Know years in advance when you'll need to replace big-ticket items.
H
ow many more
good years does
that creaky table in
OR 1 have left? When will
your anesthesia machines
breathe their last and your
autoclaves lose their
steam? There's no way to
know for sure, of course,
how long these big-ticket
items will last, but you can certainly plan for when you'll likely need
to replace them. As you'll see, tapping into the predictive powers of a
"5-Year Capital Equipment Plan" lets you project and plan for large
capital outlays. It sure beats busting your budget by making a panic
purchase when critical OR equipment breaks down.
Don't worry. There's not much math involved. You simply forecast
the life span of each piece of equipment in your facility and plot the
expected expiration dates on a spreadsheet so you can earmark funds
to buy a replacement. The key is getting the right input from the right
people: those who use the equipment and those who maintain it. Meet
with these folks at least once a year so they can update you on the
equipment's status. To help them with that, keep records of each piece
of equipment, including purchase date and repair history.
Plotting the numbers
Let's look at the sample spreadsheet below. List each piece of capital
equipment in a row. The next column, Remaining Life, lists how
many useful years you predict each item has left. The next 5 columns
1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8
Business Advisor
John J. Goehle, MBA, CASC, CPA
• FIRST TO GO? Which piece of equipment will be first to break down?
Jason
Meehan