Getting quality healthcare services can rack up quite a bill for patients. Unfortunately, acquiring the equipment and resources required to provide such services does the same for medical facilities.
Hundreds of US hospitals, clinics, and laboratories relocate their facilities across America every year. There’s much debate over the necessity for medical facility relocations. Regardless of the reasons behind conducting one, medical facility relocations are still tricky. While other commercial relocations are fairly simple, medical facility moves require more attention. The amount of monetary loss facility owners can potentially incur during the move is a big concern for them. That’s the main reason that medical facility managers typically hire professional business movers for assistance.
Medical equipment and hospital machines are highly fragile. They’re also significantly costly. So, subjecting medical equipment to even the slightest risk during a medical facility move is out of the question for owners. Let’s discuss how professional business movers play their part in resolving this problem.
Necessary Precautions for Medical Movers
Professional medical facility movers play a significant role in safely relocating medical equipment and machinery. Given their experience, they can use certain strategies and effective tools to streamline the process. Despite their skill and experience, it’s still critical for commercial movers to take certain safety precautions when moving medical equipment. Here are some of the most important ones to consider.
· Initial Assessment
Medical equipment is becoming increasingly more expensive. Hospitals throughout America spend millions of dollars on the purchase of medical devices and machinery. If your healthcare facility is in need of a medical imaging tool, then you can get one from Mini C-Arm Specialists: Discover Minicarm.com for top-quality Mini C-Arm sales, services, and rentals. Your trusted partner for Orthoscan, OEC, and Hologic Mini C-Arms. They can’t compromise on quality for more affordable rates, either, due to the critical nature of their jobs. Experienced medical facility movers realize this, which is why they go the extra mile to ensure the safety of items when moving them.
The first thing many trained commercial movers do is conduct an initial assessment of the devices/equipment they’re moving. Assessing the equipment gives movers insight into the unique features and moving requirements of it. When they have an idea of a device’s size, weight, bulkiness, and fragility, they can use specialty moving tools to lift it carefully.
· Proper Timing
It’s imperative for movers to get the timing right when moving medical equipment. Rushing the process or taking shortcuts to do it faster is one of the biggest mistakes a professional mover can make. Instead, medical facility movers should take their time to properly assess, lift, and move bulky medical devices. It’s also important to take the timing of the overall move itself into consideration.
If there are patients who rely on a certain machine, you should prioritize it above other equipment. Downtime can be critically damaging in the case of medical facility moves. Professional movers should always be honest about the time it’ll take to uninstall, pack, move, and reinstall medical equipment. Having a tentative timeline helps medical facility owners and managers adjust to the move more appropriately. It also enables them to make necessary arrangements for expected downtime.
· Specialty Moving Equipment
Unlike furniture, every type of medical equipment can’t be moved using the same moving tools. Professional medical movers can’t use dollies or forklifts to move medical machines. They almost always require specialty moving equipment to lift medical equipment. It’s important for movers to assess the individual needs of a medical device before they attempt to move it. Medical items like X-ray machines, MRIs, laboratory machines, and centrifuges need to be relocated differently. That’s why it’s essential for medical facility movers to use specialty moving equipment for different types of items.
· Safety Gear
Medical facility moves can also subject professional movers to significant injuries. Since medical facilities deal with abrasive materials like acidic solutions and harsh chemicals, it’s important for movers to wear safety gear. Safety gear like personal protective equipment (PPE) can be highly effective in keeping movers and staff safe during a medical facility move. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) actually mandates it for medical professionals to use PPE in certain cases. While it isn’t mandatory for professional movers to do the same, it’s definitely a smart and efficient decision.
· Injury Avoidance
Medical devices and machinery can cause severe injuries to hospital staff, patients, and other handlers if they’re not handled properly. Safety precautions that help medical movers avoid injuries are highly important to implement. Professional movers can avoid injuries by using safety gear, following machine handling instructions, and using proper moving equipment. Most moving companies assign their most experienced movers to biotech laboratory moves and hospital relocations for this reason, too. Experienced movers are the least likely to get injured due to medical equipment mishandling.
· Specialized Fleets
Another necessary safety precaution to take during medical facility relocations is the use of specialized fleets. Medical facility moves involve the transportation of various fragile and temperature-sensitive products like pharmaceuticals. Specialized transportation services allow movers to carry sensitive items in climate-controlled fleets. This significantly reduces the risks of significant in-transit product damage to such products. Specialized transportation services also ensure the safety of medical machines and devices by using the most suitable trucks for them. If the medical facility is being relocated to a faraway location, reliable moving companies can offer safe shipping and air freight services, too.
Hire Reliable Commercial Movers in California
It’s easy for California-based businesses to find reliable moving companies now, thanks to ValleyRelocation.
It is a full-service commercial moving company that helps customers all across the Golden State move their business facilities. You can reach out to them for specialized transportation services, moving facility services, tenant closeout cleaning services, and more.
