Healthcare

Mechanical Testing, Inc. (MTI) has worked with many healthcare facilities throughout New York State, including Albany Medical Center, St Peters, Samaritan, St Mary’s, Albany VA, Saratoga Hospital, Lourdes, Bassett Healthcare, Gutherie, Arnot Ogden, Upstate Medical, AO Fox, United Health Services, Glens Falls Hospital, White Plains Hospital and other medical suites and offices.

MTI has assisted them with HVAC Test & Balance, Fume Hood Certification, ASHRAE 110, Commissioning, troubleshooting, Fire Life Safety, 3D Lidar scans certifying operating rooms and much more.

In these times of increasing reliance on Medical Facilities Mechanical Testing, Inc. brings over 50+ years of experience, understanding and implementing ASHRAE Standards 60.1 & 60.2 (Ventilation), while also helping Hospital Owners and Operators adhere to the ASHRAE 90.1 energy code guidelines.

MTI has worked with regulatory bodies like the Joint Commission for many years. We understand what they are looking for and how to prepare reports that will be acceptable, repeatable and trustworthy. Giving hospital Operators the peace of mind that their Operating and Procedure Rooms ventilation is safe for patients.

The Benefits of Fresh Air for Medical Buildings

Back in the old days, ensuring medical buildings had quality air circulation and ventilation was an essential part of the building process. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case in recent years and it has caused the indoor air quality to suffer where it matters the most.

Of course, that all started to change once the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States. Since people were forced to spend more time indoors, scientists and researchers started taking a great deal of interest in making schools and medical buildings safer for everyone involved.

What they found was quite disturbing. Not only were these buildings poorly ventilated, but they weren’t doing a good enough job of allowing fresh air indoors -- which was deteriorating the air quality for those inside, patients, and healthcare workers.

So, what are the benefits of fresh air?

Fresh air makes the world go ‘round. It’s what delivers the necessary amount of oxygen to our bodies, which we breathe in every waking second of our life. It’s a big reason why your doctor recommends spending time in the great outdoors and connecting with nature on a regular basis.

It’s also a big reason why they recommend opening your doors and windows frequently when indoors, that way you can allow that beautiful fresh air inside. Research suggests that fresh air indoors comes with a wide range of physical health benefits, as well as your overall well-being.

Let’s take a look at five of the most prominent benefits of fresh air, in medical buildings where people are forced to spend a great deal of time indoors:

Improves Energy Levels & Focus

Believe it or not, getting fresh air in your system can lead to higher energy levels due to more oxygen in the blood and brain. With more energy, you have a sharper mind and body that allows you to work harder, relax, and relieve the stress that’s been holding you back for far too long.

This is very important in medical buildings. It’ll boost the mood of patients and improve the performance of medical professionals that normally feel depleted and stressed.

Can Lower Blood Pressure & Heart Rate

Low levels of oxygen in the body cause your pulmonary arteries to narrow, which means your blood has to squeeze into a smaller space in order to travel throughout the body. This causes high blood pressure and results in the heart working extra hard to transport blood and oxygen.

This doesn’t create the ideal environment for patients and health professionals. With every deep breath they take, their body has to work that much harder in order to supply their bodies with the necessary oxygen that we all need to perform at our best.

Getting Fresh Air Cleans Your Lungs

If medical buildings don’t have proper ventilation and circulation, then the indoor air will contain an imbalance of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide -- as well as a number of airborne toxins and pollutants. Everytime you breathe, that poor air quality fills up your lungs.

Not only will fresh air lead to cleaner lungs, but it’ll lead to higher oxygen levels -- which helps to dilate blood vessels. This helps the body repair tissue and improve cleansing, which helps release airborne toxins and pollutants from the body. This is essential to a healthy body.

More Fresh Air Equals Higher Oxygen Levels

We’ve mentioned this several times, but it’s possibly the biggest benefit of fresh air. When schools and medical buildings are filled with fresh air, it ensures there’s an adequate amount of oxygen for those inside. Higher levels of oxygen mean a healthier mind, body, and spirit.

Think about it -- medical buildings are known to house a large number of people. The more people you have in a confined space, the more oxygen you need in that space -- otherwise those people will be forced to breathe in ‘used’ air, which can be harmful to the body.

Enhances the Immune System & Improves Healing

Every single cell in your body requires oxygen in order to function at its best. This includes white blood cells, which are cells that help fight infection and kill bad bacteria inside the body. Without the right amount of oxygen, these white blood cells won’t do what they’re designed to do.

In addition to improving immunity and healing, fresh air also helps you digest food, fall asleep, and improves cardiovascular health -- which are needed to ensure the body gets the necessary nutrients, oxygen, and time to recover. As we said, fresh air makes the world go ‘round.

Improving Indoor Air Quality in Medical Buildings

Ensuring medical buildings have proper ventilation and air circulation needs to be at the forefront of building design. Don’t worry, below we’re going to discuss some of the things you can do to make the necessary improvements in indoor air quality for everyone involved

Make sure you’re cleaning frequently to remove pollutants, dust, mold, etc.
Don’t be afraid to open those windows or doors to filter out used air and let in the fresh air.
Change air filters frequently and ensure your HVAC unit is working properly at all times.
Utilize fans near windows to help fresh air circulate through a room quicker.
Invest in air purifiers to rid your space of indoor allergens.
Have your indoor air quality measured frequently to ensure you’re seeing results.
Control indoor humidity to prevent mold from growing and spreading.
Don’t use cleaning products that release harmful chemicals into the air.
Indoor plants can help, but make sure they’re tended to properly.
Hire a professional certified HVAC Test and Balancer to open dampers to allow proper outside ventilation but not too much to raise energy bill considerably

In addition to that, you should also be avoiding screen time (phones, computers, etc.) and getting outdoor exercise, which you can achieve by taking a walk, hiking, or going for a jog. That’s why students, teachers, patients, and medical professionals all need a break each day.

Bassett Healthcare –
Cooperstown, NY

62,000 sqft, two-story inpatient building vertical addition with several mech/elec upgrades, multiple renovations throughout the campus and a south terrace addition.

Ellis Hospital Pharmacy Renovation –
Schenectady, NY

8,000 sqft, 6 phase renovation of the pharmacy. The new spaces include: chemotherapy room, clean rooms, anti-rooms, gowning, compound prep, packing rooms, office and supply rooms.

Center for Medical Sciences –
Albany, NY

150,000 sqft, 5 story research facility including labs, offices, and an environmental room.

New York State Veterans Nursing Facility –
Oxford, NY

223,000 sqft, 228 single occupant room nursing facility.

Upstate Medical University Vertical Expansion –
Syracuse, NY

Six story vertical expansion, which, in addition to the two floors dedicated to the children's hospital, fake rolex features patient care for cardiovascular, neurology, and oncology services.

"I've been fortunate enough to partner with MTI for hundreds of successful mechanical projects over the course of about 10 years now. Quick responses, courtesy, accuracy and professionalism are all great descriptors for MTI and how the company not only intends to, but actually does business. We look forward to many more projects together! Thank you."

Ellis Hospital

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Tips, Traps and FAQs

If your HVAC BMS controls have a bunch of outdated overrides in them, your burning money! HVAC overrides of heating and cooling valves cost building owners and operators $10,000's of dollars a year if left unchecked. Commissioning your BMS will save you money this year! Make it part of your Preventive Maintenance routine annually

Each year 100's-1000's of man hours are lost to construction companies because of pour or no, virtual drawing coordination. Reality Capture allows for existing buildings to be 3D Scanned and imported directly to AutoDesk so designers can create your new design based off correct and current conditions of the building environment. Saving the project$

Here is short video of MTI Test and Balance Engineer, Brian Venn discussing an Independent approach to TAB and why we are a proud member of AABC!

AABC - Independence Matters

Drones can be used for many different applications. Our inspections offer drone solutions for construction that can significantly reduce costs of many items. Specifically, they can eliminate the need for costly lifts in many circumstances. Drone use is a valuable option for construction companies. MTI offers different services for the construction.

Continued Commissioning is a process that works to improve how equipment in the building and systems function together. There are many variables that come into play, the age of the building or system being one and how the sequence of operation is managing the daily equipment routines.

MTI believes in Full Project Awareness and that is exactly what a 3D Scan provides. MTI has a state of the art Leica RTC360 3D reality capture solution. MTI will capture your environment in 3D. Export it into a manageable Point Cloud that is ready to be converted into a working RVT file.

Building Commissioning is the practice that ensures buildings are delivered according to the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR). Buildings that are properly commissioned typically have fewer change orders, tend to be more energy efficient, and have lower operation and maintenance cost. DO NOT Value Engineer Commissioning out of your next project

Symptoms of a building with an Air Balance issue:
Entry way doors "howl" and are difficult to open or won't remain closed. Odor issues in storage areas, break rooms or worse...bathrooms! Frost forms on window sills in the winter. High and Low Temperature areas in a building. Cooling problems in the summer – no matter how long the AC runs.

Change filters every six to eight months. Did you know that dirty air filters can lead to Dirty Air? Dirty air filled will allergens like pollen and mold can lead to sick time in the work place. Sick time means reduced productivity... do we need to go on? They also put wear and tear on your HVAC system meaning you will have to replace it earlier.

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