Oxygen and PSA
What does a post-commissioning assessment of a PSA plant check?
What does a post-commissioning assessment check on a PSA oxygen plant after handover?
Short answer
The Global Fund's post-commissioning assessment form (12 September 2025) is a checklist to confirm that a PSA plant is correctly installed and performing optimally, covering administration and budgets, the plant area, ventilation, compressor and dryer, purity and sieve bed pressures, cylinder filling, piping, alarms, cylinders and spare parts.
The form was written by Build Health International for the Global Fund's Project BOXER, whose technical assistance overview (26 July 2024) describes the post-commissioning assessment as a site visit to check that the plant has been correctly installed and is performing per the specifications, and says it does not replace supplier commissioning inspections or other construction inspections required by local authorities. The form recommends that only staff with the technical skillset and appropriate tools use it.
What the form checks
| Section | Examples of checks in the form |
|---|---|
| Administrative | Who completes the daily checklist (the plant operator) and who reviews it (the biomedical engineer); a service agreement and its duration; whether staff have read the service contract and warranty; budget provision for increased electricity costs, and awareness of the need to budget for spare parts after the service contract ends; tools for the technical staff |
| Plant area | Free of trash and debris; at least 10 m from open flames, smoke, diesel generators, incinerator exhausts and similar; no standing water or flood risk; protected from blowing dust, sand, rain and snow; plant and cylinder storage shaded from direct sunlight; equipment noise not objectionable; a fire extinguisher |
| Ventilation | Louvers or windows for fresh air; compressor exhaust vented or ducted so it does not return to the room; room temperature after at least 30 minutes of compressor running, compared with the manufacturer's maximum ambient temperature |
| Compressor and dryer | Nameplates photographed; phase rotation; setpoint or load/unload point and unload pressure against the manual; inrush current measured with a clamp meter; oil and air leaks; pressure dew point between 3 and 5 °C; oil level; all condensate drains working, with condensate collected or piped outside |
| Oxygen generator | Feed air regulator setting; the oxygen tank emptied and refilled, with purity at the tank outlet measured by a handheld analyser after 1, 2 and 3 hours, expected between 90% and 96%; maximum, minimum and equalisation pressures of both sieve beds against the manual; a video of the display or gauges over a full cycle; tank pressures at which the generator goes on standby and resumes |
| Cylinder filling | Cylinder valves compatible with the pigtails; the booster does not run with the oxygen tank outlet closed; suction pressure against the manual; automatic shut-off when the cylinder is full, at around 150 bar; fill time against the booster's design filling rate; purity of filled cylinders |
| Piping and alarms | Regulator setting at the tank outlet; shut-off valves between components and to the wards; a backup manifold where the plant feeds the pipeline directly; low pressure alarm and automatic changeover tested; pipe diameters, deformed pipes and a sample of brazing checked for leaks; purity and leaks at outlets; flowmeters compatible with the outlets; zone alarms tested by closing the zone valves |
| Oxygen use and spares | Cylinders on site, with a rule of thumb of approximately three times the number planned to be filled in 24 hours; whether staff get enough oxygen at the outlets; at least 1 year of spare parts on site, stored outside the plant room, with an inventory tracking system |
Commissioning
The Global Fund commissioning guideline (28 August 2024) runs the plant uninterrupted for a minimum of 24 hours at its rated maximum capacity with purity above 90% at all times, and says a formal handover meeting between the supplier and the hospital should conclude it; see how a PSA plant is commissioned. For the cylinder rule of thumb, see how many cylinders a filling station needs.
For ULTRAOX plants, the ULTRAOX Technical Data Sheet (2022, p. 6) lists an installation post-monitoring system (ISO 13485) within the UltraCare programme; see what UltraCare is.
More questions
Who should carry out a post-commissioning assessment?
The Global Fund form (12 September 2025) recommends that only staff with the technical skillset and appropriate tools use the checklist.
Does it replace the supplier's commissioning?
No. The Project BOXER overview (26 July 2024) says the post-commissioning assessment does not replace supplier commissioning inspections or other construction inspections required by local authorities.
What purity should the assessment find?
The form expects 90% to 96% at the oxygen tank outlet, measured with a handheld analyser after the tank has been emptied and the plant has run until it is full again.
Sources
- Global Fund / Build Health International, Post-Commissioning Assessment Form for Medical Oxygen Plants (12 September 2025)
- Global Fund / Build Health International, Overview: Build Health International Technical Assistance Services (Project BOXER, 26 July 2024)
- Global Fund / Build Health International, Overview: PSA Oxygen Plant Commissioning Guidelines (28 August 2024)
- ULTRAOX Technical Data Sheet 2022, p. 6
Ultra Controlo figures come from its technical datasheets. Third-party facts were read at the source on the date shown.