Electrical Safety and Protection Technologies
| POWERSERVE
Electrical Safety and Protection Technologies
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RECEPTACLE TESTING
Receptacle Ground Module Considerable debate has taken place in recent years over receptacle testing frequency. In studies on hospital receptacle testing, the issue of proper grounding and ground impedance always emerges as the biggest concern. Recent studies indicate that in U.S hospitals more than 13% of the electrical receptacles in patient care areas and the wiring to which they are connected are not safe per the requirements of NFPA 99! In the Operating Room and Critical Care areas this is never an issue when POWERSERVE is performing Periodic Testing. Our "Level 1" and "Level 2" services both include complete Ground System testing. The ground integrity of the receptacle grounds is verified by measuring the impedance between the room or patient reference ground, and the ground pin of the receptacle under test. Additionally, POWERSERVE offers optional "Receptacle Tension Testing". We will go beyond verifying the impedance between the ground pin and the ground bus and also verify that the receptacle tension meets the requirements of NFPA 99 Section 3-3.3.3 "Receptacle Testing in Patient Care Areas". This section states that the retention force of the grounding blade of each receptacle (except locking-types) shall be not less than 4 ounces. By combining "Receptacle Tension Testing" with system Ground Impedance testing, you are assured that the ground circuit has high integrity "end-to-end". We recommend tension testing annually and perform it while in the room testing the IPS systems and grounding systems. If you are unsure whether the receptacles in your ORs and Critical Care areas have been tension tested, or if you don't have documentation for it, we strongly recommend allowing us to perform baseline testing as soon as possible. |
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