Can a PSA plant be commissioned with remote support?

UNDP's requirements (sections 6.7 and 7.4) make the supplier responsible for the installation work and for comprehensive testing of the complete plant, under the technical oversight of the UNDP project management unit, which is encouraged to engage certified third-party organisations, where available, for independent verification. The plant should be commissioned after comprehensive testing, calibration and performance verification of flow rates, pressures, oxygen concentration, alarms and backup system functionality. Remote diagnostics appear in UNDP's text as part of the service level agreement, next to on-site troubleshooting and staff training.

What WHO asks to happen on site

WHO's Technical specifications for health facility based medical oxygen systems (31 December 2024), which supersede its 2020 interim PSA specifications, leave the detailed requirements for installation, testing and commissioning to the manufacturer, together with a site readiness checklist. Its requirements before commissioning include: the contractor must position and interconnect all components and connect the system to the power supply; tests should follow the manufacturer's protocols, with results cross-checked with the pre-shipment inspection; the automatic switch-over to the secondary or reserve supply is to be verified; and at least 72 hours of continuous operation of the entire system should be performed, with all analysers and alarms, including power failure, checked. WHO asks for user training on site. Under the warranty, of at least 1 year from commissioning, WHO lists remote support 24 hours a day for manufacturer defects, and suggests a service agreement that details the time to respond remotely and on site.

Remote support in other guidance

• WHO's 2020 interim specification, which said it would expire two years after publication, listed remote support for installation, use and maintenance, described on-site training for installation, use and maintenance as preferable, and asked for conformity of the installation to be verified by a certified third party.
• WHO's Foundations of medical oxygen systems (2023) notes that some technologies, such as PSA plants, allow vendors to do remote monitoring, which, where feasible, enables live reporting and tracking of dysfunctions.
• WHO (2024) asks buyers to decide whether training takes place on site, virtually or in a hybrid form, and warns that teams who install, test and commission are not necessarily suitable for or qualified to conduct training.

Checks the hospital can document

The Global Fund's PSA plant commissioning guidelines (28 August 2024) are written for suppliers, principal recipients, technical staff and biomedical engineers. They confirm equipment details from photographs of nameplates or a plant walkthrough video, run the plant uninterrupted for at least 24 hours (3 days is recommended) at maximum flow, confirm the on-screen purity with a handheld analyser, and end with a formal handover meeting between the supplier or its representative and the hospital. A plant is not considered commissioned until these requirements are documented; the checks can be reconfirmed later by designated trained staff or the contracted supplier, and any deviation must be documented and confirmed with the manufacturer. For the full test list, see how a PSA oxygen plant is commissioned.

ULTRAOX

According to the ULTRAOX SC datasheet, the plants are factory pre-electrified, can be totally interconnected on request, and are parameterised and tested in the factory, ready to start on site. On large ULTRAOX SC and ST plants, installation, initial start-up and training of personnel are supervised by Ultra Controlo factory technicians, and the ULTRAOX 2022 datasheet puts all alarms on an interface for remote signalling.