Walk through the back corridors of enough hospitals and a pattern emerges: capable equipment, still under a decade old, no longer in service. The cause is seldom the device. It is almost always a decision taken before the device arrived.
These are the errors we encounter most often in equipment planning, with the check that prevents each.
Specifications written by a supplier
When a specification is adapted from one manufacturer’s brochure, it describes that manufacturer’s product. Competitors are excluded on technicalities, evaluation becomes indefensible, and price is never genuinely tested.
The check: specifications should state clinical requirement, performance parameters and service obligations in neutral terms, and should be written before any supplier is approached.
Site requirements confirmed after purchase
Power phase and stability, earthing, floor loading, door widths, lift dimensions, room size, shielding, cooling, water quality and gas provision are all determined by the device selected. Purchasing first converts these into construction changes.
The check: issue site-readiness requirements to the design and construction team as soon as an equipment category is agreed, and verify them physically before delivery is scheduled.
Evaluating on purchase price
Purchase price is often a minority of lifetime cost. Consumables, reagents, calibration, service contracts, spare parts, software licences and training frequently exceed it over the asset life.
The check: evaluate on total cost of ownership over a stated service life, with consumable pricing and service rates included as bid requirements.
No verified local service capability
A device with no accessible engineer, no in-country parts and no responsive service contract will eventually stop working and stay stopped.
The check: verify local technical presence, parts availability, guaranteed response times and training provision as part of vendor prequalification, not as a post-award conversation.
Consumables and reagents unchecked
Closed-system analysers, proprietary cartridges and single-source consumables create long-term dependence on one supply line. If that line is disrupted, the asset is unusable regardless of its condition.
The check: assess consumable availability, pricing history and alternative sources before selection, particularly for laboratory and imaging platforms.
Training treated as a delivery formality
A short handover session at installation, given to whoever is available that day, does not create operating competence, especially where staff turnover is normal.
The check: specify training as a deliverable with defined content, duration, participant numbers and refresher provision, and identify internal super-users who will train subsequent staff.
Maintenance planned but not funded
Planned preventive maintenance is frequently agreed in principle and omitted from the recurrent budget. Once the warranty lapses, service becomes a series of emergency purchases at the least favourable moment.
The check: build a funded maintenance line into the operating budget at the point of acquisition, and record downtime so that its cost becomes visible to management.
Each of these checks is inexpensive and belongs at the planning stage. Together they are the difference between an equipment programme that supports clinical services for a decade and one that becomes a store of assets waiting for a part.
