Lately, it seems as if the codes and standards related to the design and installation of piped medical gas systems have been changing more quickly than the systems themselves can be designed and installed. With all of these changes how can you be sure the systems you are designing meet the latest requirements for safety and reliability required by the code and the functionality your clients demand?
The first and most important step is to understand how changes to the codes and standards affect your design and specifications. A complete discussion of the changes in requirements for the entire medical gas system (medical air compressors, valve stations, alarms, gas sources, etc.) could easily fill the pages of this magazine. We won't attempt to do that here. What we will discuss are changes that affect the medical gas piping itself.