Vacuum Insulated Evaporator (VIE) System
New VIE Liquid Oxygen Compound
Major NHS General Hospital Site
The Objectives
Minimise risk to continuity of supply, particularly in light-of the current COVID-19 pandemic
Improve resilience of the current supply – with having a secondary VIE compound at the site this eliminates the single point of failure issue with having one single vessel
Challenges
- Determining the optimum location with consideration to the future resilience and physical topology of the medical oxygen system. The location was constrained by the availability of a suitable space which needed reliable access for regular liquid oxygen deliveries
- It was imperative that the completed system also complied with the constraints of HTM02-01Part A, for medical gas pipeline systems
- Maintaining consistent project delivery in line with client expectations in a politically challenging environment
The Successful Solution – achieved during unprecedented global pandemic.
- Constructing a lay-by capable of withstanding the weight and overall size of oxygen tanker whilst maintaining the security of the compound, keeping foot and vehicular traffic safe
- Engineering a cost effective, HTM compliant medical gas pipeline installation, particularly at a time when all resources were extremely scarce due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- New data and power, with spare capacity, installed to the new VIE compound to serve remote monitoring and automatic oxygen change-over valves