When working on an unfamiliar or particularly challenging piece of equipment, sometimes just finding the problem to fix can be a bit tricky. Resources such as service manuals, advice from colleagues, or even the Internet can all be indispensable when troubleshooting, but sometimes an out-of-the-box solution can yield the best results.

When biomed and clinical laboratory equipment specialist Jon Sears with the Baltimore VA is having difficulty, oftentimes he will go straight to the equipment vendors themselves.

“It’s just a matter of getting through the tech support people,” he says. “If you can get through the front lines to the engineering group, they’re just like any other engineering group out there. They don’t mind pointing you in the right direction to work on things. A lot of times most of the engineering is reserved for most of the company’s field service representatives, but a lot of times they’ll talk to you.”

Sears also uses his background to build rapport with vendors. Taking time to build a relationship and a level of trust with vendor service departments has paid off for Sears, who turns to them for more than just troubleshooting advice.

“A lot of times I’ll call them up and I’ll take to them about reference manuals or files I need. A lot of the time they have it on their computers and they’ll just e-mail the file."

We’re interested to hear about any go-to troubleshooting techniques and tips you’ve picked up. Have you opened any doors thought previously closed?

It is my pleasure to welcome our guest blogger Todd Cooper, president of Breakthrough Solutions Foundry Inc, San Diego. Device connectivity affects everyone working with medical devices, and your comments and participation are important, as you’ll see from Todd’s post below. We hope you'll respond to this blog and also click on the link he provides to submit your ideas. Thanks in advance!

From Todd Cooper: In the midst of the health care reform debate, passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009/Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (ARRA/HITECH) legislation earlier this year, and even discussions about the “health Internet,” the question has been asked: Where does device connectivity fit into all this? To answer that question, the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) was chartered to look at the broad landscape of device connectivity and the ever increasing role it plays within the health care enterprise, and to create a plan of attack over the next few years that would culminate in “medical device interoperability” by 2015. A HITSP working group of subject matter experts has been developing a technical note over the last 2 to 3 months that provides just such a multi-phased roadmap for establishing open standards-based device connectivity solutions that would be ready for deployment by 2013/2015, as well as the technology gaps that need to be filled in order to get there.

Recently HITSP published HITSP/TN905 Device Connectivity Technical Note for public comment and is asking for review and feedback over the next few weeks. The document is available on the HITSP Web site and the public comment period closes December 18, 2009. The comments will then be reviewed and a final draft created and submitted for approval at the HITSP meeting scheduled for January 25, 2010. This is your opportunity to provide input into the roadmap, ensuring that your concerns and needs are heard and taken into consideration!

Also, if you are interested in working on the final draft to be submitted for final approval by the HITSP at its January 25, 2010 meeting, please contact either Todd Cooper (t.cooper@ieee.org) or John Donnelly (jtdonnelly@intepro.biz).

On 24x7’s Facebook page someone asked how to go about finding work. I’ve also heard of some layoffs recently in the field, so in these tough times I think it would be great if you could share your best tips for finding a job.

Is it through networking with colleagues? Through your local association? A specific Web site? Looking forward to your comments and thanks!

I recently read that the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) has launched an Excellence in Facilities Management Award that honors an individual or team that demonstrates outstanding innovation and creativity to improve the health care physical environment. The ASHE award will highlight best practices in order to educate and inspire others, as well as recognize innovative efforts.

I’ve just finished going through comments from our Annual Compensation Survey and I will say that lack of appreciation and respect are enormous areas of concern for many of you. Based on that, have any of you found ways to build camaraderie or show appreciation to one another for a job well done? Have any managers implemented an appreciation or recognition program? I hope you’ll share your best practices that other departments can employ. Thanks!