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MEP Drafting Considerations for Hospitals

4 April 2022
Ganesh Naikar
mechanical drafting services

Hospitals have so much going on – consultation, treatment, operations, physiotherapy, catering, biological waste and healing environments. There’s so much to manage, so much to do and so much that could go frighteningly wrong. It is crucial for MEP systems to work flawlessly in a hospital, and that means efficient planning. Efficient planning requires accurate and reliable MEP drafting services.

What are the most relevant MEP drafting considerations in a hospital?

Let’s start with hospital HVAC drafting. Some of the most important drawings must include:

  • Air handling units
  • Duct work
  • Kitchen ventilation
  • Car park ventilation
  • Bathroom extraction fans

Electrical drawings may include details of:

  • Lighting and light fixtures
  • Cable trays
  • Medical piping for medical gases

In the realm of plumbing, drawings should have details of:

  • Chilled water pipes
  • Fire sprinklers, water hoses with cabinets
  • Drainage
  • Water supply
  • Plumbing fixtures

It is vital that the MEP layout in a hospital matches the approved design to a ‘T’. Healthcare construction is open to many challenges, such as rework, project overruns, material wastage, faulty hospital operations, etc.

What are the Main Purpose of MEP Coordination?

In many cases, more than 45% of the budget is invested in MEP systems. So, contracting companies must ensure that MEP coordination and clash detection services are near-perfect for the purposes of:

  • Space planning
  • Scheduling
  • Cost estimation

To facilitate accurate BIM modelling, MEP coordination and clash detection, MEP CAD drafting services must be precise and reliable. Why so?

Improved Airflow
  • Hospitals and clinics require airflow systems that perform at optimum levels all the time, climate control and steam designed according to specifications for a soothing environment and to maintain suitable humidity and temperature needs.
  • It is critical that ventilation systems prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
  • Humidification and dehumidification equipment are needed to regulate climate.
  • Steam is utilised by various hospital equipment.
  • Critical care surgical spaces and patient rooms need intelligent HVAC design for improved patient recovery.

In case of inaccurate design, HVAC systems can be the source of discomfort and may even be dangerous for patients and healthcare professionals.

Suitable Lighting & Power
  • Hospitals need a variety of lighting for different spaces and reliable power ratings to efficiently manage advanced equipment.
  • Adequate power supply is necessary to achieve uninterrupted patient care and operations.

It is imperative to design the right lighting systems for day and night in hospitals for emergencies and during routine operations.

Efficient Plumbing
  • Hygienic conditions in healthcare institutions require efficient plumbing.
  • Exclusive hospital plumbing systems include dialysis systems, lab facilities, sterile equipment, pathology labs, hot water systems, etc.
  • Maintaining design consistency for plumbing products help plumbing components withstand high-traffic use.
  • Accurate MEP drawings help ensure the flawless fabrication and installation of plumbing fixtures, such as toilets, faucets, basins, surgeon scrub sinks, etc.
  • Plumbing systems that are additionally required for hospitals include water filtration systems, acid neutralisers, drainage dump-load systems for decontamination, mixing valves, etc.
Enhancing Fire Safety
  • Hospitals must have proactive sprinkler systems for fire protection of patients and medical professionals.
  • Fire sprinkler systems that do not detect fires may result in the uncontrolled spread of fire. The occurrence of a fire must not be allowed to interrupt critical operations or surgeries.
  • Fire protection systems must deploy immediately without harm to patients, surgeons and other professionals.
  • Advanced and expensive hospital equipment, such as MRIs, heart monitors, etc., must be protected by adequately designed fire protection systems.
Additional Benefits of MEP Drafting

In addition to the above hospital requirements, MEP drafting can be used to generate models and walk-throughs for easier visualisation during the planning stages. How can this be beneficial for hospital design planning?

  • The uniform lighting that is required in hospital wards can be achieved without high-glare situations through 3D modelling of lighting systems.
  • Rendered walk-throughs help project stakeholders visualise daylight sensors, voltage distribution systems, fail-safe, lighting placement, etc. in hospital spaces.

For a hospital MEP layout that works perfectly, the initial design and mechanical CAD drafting services must be flawless. Increasingly, construction companies in the West are looking eastward, especially towards India, as a reliable and cost-effective offshore MEP services alternative. Experienced companies in India have the expertise to provide high-quality mechanical drafting, CAD drawing services and BIM drafting services for hospitals.

XS CAD has valuable experience providing BIM modelling services and MEP CAD drafting services for engineering consultants and contractors. Our range of offshore MEP design and drafting services for consultants and manufacturers across the world include HVAC drafting, electrical drafting, CAD drawing services and BIM drafting services. We create these models and drawings using Revit, AutoCAD, Navisworks and BIM Collaborate Pro for cloud collaboration.

Learn more about our MEP BIM services.

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