# How is a PSA oxygen plant delivered and installed?

**How is a PSA oxygen plant shipped, placed and connected at the hospital?**

A PSA plant arrives containerised, skid-mounted or for building on site, is positioned with cranes or forklifts on a prepared base, connected to power, drainage and the pipeline, then commissioned and handed over with training; ULTRAOX plants leave the factory pre-electrified, parameterised and tested, ready to start.

WHO's Foundations of medical oxygen systems (2023) says PSA plants can be built on site, skid-mounted or containerised, and delivered as turn-key units with all the equipment needed to operate; containerised and skid-mounted plants facilitate smoother installation but are typically not feasible above 30 Nm3/h. WHO's interim technical specifications for PSA plants (8 June 2020, superseded by WHO's technical specifications of 31 December 2024) asked for the shipment to be delivered direct from the factory, with any external or internal damage noted and reported on delivery.

## Before delivery: the site

Global Fund guidance on site readiness (11 April 2025) starts with the supplier sharing the technical requirements for the infrastructure and, for a containerised plant, layout drawings of the container and schematic drawings of the recommended concrete pad and canopy. Each supplier has its own prerequisites, which the Principal Recipient using the plant must verify, and construction documents then show the work the general contractor will do. Hospital staff, Ministry of Health officials and other parties then discuss points such as:

- How many technical staff are available to operate the plant, and whether the hospital will carry the maintenance and operating budget.
- Whether a transformer upgrade or another generator is needed, and how the oxygen pipe will run between buildings, in trenches or above ground.
- Where cylinders, spare parts and consumables will be stored.
- For a container: a level concrete pad sized to the container (6.06 m / 20 ft or 12.2 m / 40 ft) with a ramp, a canopy against direct weather, electrical feeders from the main distribution panel, open access for a truck and a crane, and air pollutants at least 10 m away.

WHO (2023) adds that the vendor should give the precise power requirements of the components and the whole system, the room dimensions, door and window positions and sizes, ventilation, air extractors and extra copper piping, and a final layout drawing showing where each component goes.

## Installation

Depending on the system, WHO (2023) lists installation tasks that may include positioning the system with forklifts, cranes, slings or rigging gear; connecting a reliable and continuous power source; connecting the primary or secondary supply to the distribution system; designing and installing the pipeline, outlets, alarms and valves where needed; building or improving the housing; operator training by the supplier's certified trainers; handover of documents, tests and reports; and verification by third parties.

## Commissioning and handover

Global Fund commissioning guidelines (28 August 2024) include an uninterrupted run of at least 24 hours at the plant's rated maximum flow with purity above 90% at all times, purity confirmed with a handheld analyser at the oxygen tank and at bedside outlets where available, and a 24-hour pipeline pressure test at 20% above operating pressure that must not fall by more than 10%. The supplier gives the hospital's technical staff basic training, and a formal handover meeting closes the work, with the manuals, the preventive maintenance schedule and the warranty and service contract delivered. WHO's 2020 specifications asked for the conformity of the installation to be verified by a certified third party.

## ULTRAOX

Ultra Controlo designs and manufactures its systems in Portugal, in its own factories. ULTRAOX plants leave the factory pre-electrified and, if requested, totally interconnected, parameterised and tested, ready to start on site; on large plants, installation, initial start-up and training of personnel are supervised by factory technicians (ULTRAOX SC and ULTRAOX ST datasheets, p. 3). The customer provides a clean, level area easily accessible by lifting machinery or a crane, condensate drainage, a fixing system for all equipment, three-phase power and the licences to install and operate the plant, which can be connected to a diesel-electric generator (ULTRAOX 2022, p. 9). Where no civil space or technical room is available, the 2022 datasheet offers the ULTRAOX CO, built inside a sea container, and the existing oxygen installation can stay in place, with the ULTRAOX connected as a new source of supply (ULTRAOX SC and ST datasheets, p. 3).

### Who prepares the site?

In the Global Fund process (2025), the supplier shares its infrastructure requirements and drawings, the Principal Recipient verifies each supplier's site-readiness prerequisites, and construction documents set out the work for the general contractor.

### Can the old oxygen supply stay connected?

For ULTRAOX, the datasheet says the existing installation can be kept and the plant connected to it as a new source of oxygen supply.

## Sources

- [WHO, Foundations of medical oxygen systems (17 February 2023), sections 2.2.1, 2.3 and 3.4.1](https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Clinical-Oxygen-2023.1)
- [WHO, Technical specifications for PSA oxygen plants, interim guidance (8 June 2020)](https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-PSA_Specifications-2020.1)
- [Global Fund / Build Health International, Overview: PSA Plant Site Readiness Process and Responsibilities (11 April 2025)](https://resources.theglobalfund.org/media/tkyd3gwi/cr_c19rm-psa-plant-site-readiness-process-responsibilities_steps_en.pdf)
- [Global Fund / Build Health International, Overview: PSA Oxygen Plant Commissioning Guidelines (28 August 2024)](https://resources.theglobalfund.org/media/qp3h1vxo/cr_c19rm-psa-oxygen-plant-commissioning_overview_en.pdf)
- [ULTRAOX SC datasheet, p. 3](https://www.ultracontrolo.com/products/ultraox)
- [ULTRAOX ST datasheet, p. 3](https://www.ultracontrolo.com/products/ultraox-st)
- [ULTRAOX datasheet 2022, p. 9 and p. 19](https://www.ultracontrolo.com/ultraox)
- Ultra Controlo Corporate Presentation 2026, p. 4
- [WHO, Technical specifications for health facility based medical oxygen systems (31 December 2024), note on the oxygen generator plant specification (supersedes the 2020 interim PSA specifications)](https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/ff437601-add3-44c8-8149-b85f0cdb2b52/content)

Reviewed: 2026-10-22. Ultra Controlo engineering. https://library.ultracontrolo.com/answers/how-is-a-psa-plant-delivered-and-installed/