How often should purity be recorded?

Global Fund guidance (2024) asks for oxygen purity to be monitored and recorded daily with at least two different analysers, and at a minimum with a handheld analyser.

How do you know if the plant is the right size?

Global Fund guidance (2024) asks for production to be compared with consumption every year, extending distribution if the plant is underused and adding sources if it is overused.

Which indicators should a hospital track for its oxygen plant?

Q: Which performance indicators should a hospital track for its PSA oxygen plant, such as purity, output, downtime, maintenance and running costs?

In UNDP procurement, REQ-OXY-001 (2025) asks the end user to monitor purity, flow rate and pressure continuously and report on production, maintenance and repairs; Global Fund guidance (2024) adds daily production split between pipeline and cylinder filling, daily purity with at least two analysers, and a yearly comparison of production with consumption.

Which performance indicators should a hospital track for its PSA oxygen plant, such as purity, output, downtime, maintenance and running costs?

WHO's Foundations of medical oxygen systems (2023) lists system monitoring, by reporting and tracking key performance indicators, among the requirements for access to safe and continuous oxygen, without fixing a list. The indicators below are the ones named in UNDP's REQ-OXY-001 (effective 1 January 2025), the Global Fund sustainability guidance for PSA plants (22 August 2024) and the Global Fund daily maintenance checklist.

Indicators named in the guidance

Indicator	What the guidance asks	Source
Oxygen production	Record daily production, separating direct supply to the pipeline from cylinder refilling; record the cylinders filled and the hours spent filling; produce regular production performance reports	Global Fund (2024), daily checklist, UNDP (2025)
Production against demand	Compare production with consumption every year: if the plant is underused, consider extending the pipeline or cylinder distribution to peripheral facilities; if overused, consider additional sources	Global Fund (2024)
Purity	Record purity daily with at least two different analysers, at a minimum a handheld analyser; purity always explicitly visible on the control panel	Global Fund (2024), WHO (2024)
Flow and pressure	Continuous monitoring plan for purity, flow rate and pressure, in real time if the capability is available	UNDP (2025)
Running hours	Record compressor, oxygen generator and booster running hours and compare them with the preventive maintenance schedule	Global Fund daily checklist; WHO (2024)
Alarms and breakdowns	Note any alarm codes daily; define the maximum number of days the plant may be shut down and an escalation procedure if that is exceeded	Global Fund daily checklist, Global Fund (2024)
Maintenance and repairs	Keep records of daily checklists, preventive and periodic maintenance and repairs by staff and external providers; a log of all maintenance; regular maintenance and repair performance reports	Global Fund (2024), UNDP (2025)
Running costs	Track spare parts, maintenance, repairs, electricity bills, diesel, distribution and staff salaries through regular financial monitoring and reporting	Global Fund (2024)

UNDP says these reports inform facility management and vendors of the system improvements or adjustments needed, and its budget guidance covers routine maintenance, spare parts, energy consumption and upgrades. The daily readings themselves are covered in what daily checks a PSA operator does.

Getting the data out of the plant

WHO's Technical specifications for health facility based medical oxygen systems (31 December 2024) ask for the oxygen generator plant's panel to show cumulative hours of operation, for data export functionality such as a USB port, SD card or Bluetooth, and for any need to integrate remote monitoring into a computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) to be specified; user training is to cover plant performance indicators and record keeping. See whether a tender should require remote monitoring.

What happens without records

In PATH's analysis of 43 facility reports covering 50 PSA plants in eight countries in Africa and Latin America (November 2023), 60 percent of the plants were overdue for maintenance at the time of assessment and none of the facilities noted having a maintenance log.

ULTRAOX plants

The ULTRAOX touch screen shows oxygen purity, flow in L/min, total oxygen produced in m³, pressure in bar, maintenance information with the next intervention due, a record of all contingencies and alarm information (ULTRAOX datasheet 2022, p. 16).