Product: Eaton FERRUPS FE Series 50 Hz

Location: Raleigh, N.C.

Market Served: Healthcare

Background

The board-certified plastic surgeons of Specialists in Plastic Surgery strive for uncompromised quality in patient care and surgical results with a focus on the individual. The team of certified, licensed and highly trained professionals is committed to helping all patients meet or exceed their medical, beauty and aesthetic needs. This is accomplished by listening, consulting, educating, building a trusting relationship and providing discreet personal services in a safe and comfortable environment. 

Challenge

Patients undergoing surgery at the center need to know that they will be safe during their procedures — even if utility power was ever compromised. “When we lose power and we have a patient in surgery, we need to make sure we have the ability to finish that surgery safely,” reveals Wade C. Adams, practice administrator. To that end, when it opened its doors in 2000, Specialists in Plastic Surgery sought an uninterruptible power system (UPS) capable of delivering the highest level of reliability. Responsible for protecting the equipment in three operating rooms — ranging from anesthesia and coagulation devices, to overhead and personal lighting, to patient warming and suction equipment — the center’s power protection solution had to be robust and rugged. “We’re talking about very critical backup equipment for surgery,” Adams says. They found just what the doctor ordered in the Eaton FERRUPS FE 500 VA UPS, which has been performing flawlessly since its installation more than a decade ago. 

Solution

The unit’s patented ferroresonant technology delivers the “bulletproof” power protection required by the surgery center to overcome spikes, sags, surges, noise and lightning. “We have had power outages occur during a surgery, and the UPS performed exactly as expected,” confirms Adams. In addition to delivering unmatched reliability, extensive configurability options make the FERRUPS an ideal power protection solution for a variety of applications. The unit also prevents the backfeed of harmonic currents into building wiring, which can disrupt equipment operations. Furthermore, the UPS features active voltage regulation, which converts power from almost any AC source into computer-grade power. Redundant power paths in the FERRUPS ensure high faulttolerance and optimum uptime, while the unit’s galvanic isolation separates input from output, filtering line noise and surges. Additionally, the UPS is able to provide regulated output voltage without drawing from the batteries, ensuring they remain fully charged for unexpected power failures.For Specialists in Plastic Surgery, this impressive lineup of features is a prescription for safety and success. “We’re able to meet our national accreditation standards and have the peace of mind to know if there is a power outage, we can care for the patients safely,” Adams says. “In the surgery center, safety is always first.” Adams also appreciates the unit’s enhanced diagnostics capabilities, which initiate automatic startup and scheduled tests on the logic board, batter and other critical systems. Even more, the FERRUPS’ communication functions include more than 80 userprogrammable settings. “The unit gives me a message if there is ever a problem,” Adams reveals. “I just use the button pad and it brings up where the problem is. Then I can easily troubleshoot on the phone with Eaton service techs. It’s very user-friendly.” The FERRUPS’ reliability was tested during a recent storm that cut power to the surgery building. Yet the unit kicked on as expected and kept all functions up and running until the power returned. “It’s very reliable and provides the backup we need,” Adams sums up. “Plus it’s cost effective to maintain.” 

Service

The fact that the FERRUPS unit has performed impeccably for Specialists in Plastic Surgery over the past decade is an accomplishment that Adams attributes, in large part, to regular service inspections performed annually by Eaton. In this manner, the surgery center is able to ensure its unit remains in perfect health. “Preventive maintenance is critical because when you need the equipment, you need it,” Adams explains. “There’s no time to call for a service call. You need to know the UPS is going to work the way it should. Preventive maintenance gives me that peace of mind.” Adams can recall just one instance over the past 10 years when the FERRUPS required a service call. “We had a unique problem that was giving us an error message and we needed some replacement parts,” he says. But the issue was resolved quickly and easily. “The Eaton representatives are fantastic,” Adams enthuses. “The dispatcher took care of every need and kept in contact with me during the entire service period. There was great communication and technician worked on the problem until it was resolved. “Aside from preventive maintenance and routine replacement of batteries, that’s a great track record,” Adams points out. “Especially when you figure that unit has been installed for 10 years.”