Disaster Recovery
Total Analytical Solutions are specialists in instrument disaster assessment and recovery and have worked with many loss adjustors to ensure insurance claims are fair whilst keeping customer downtime to a minimum.
So far we have saved insurers over a 1 million pounds in identifying faults that were not connected to the original incident and repairing instruments that OEMs had written off as part of the claim.
Disaster Assessment
We follow a 6 stage process for instrument assessment.
Stage 1. The type of disaster is discussed with the loss adjustors/insurers; Whether it's flooding in the laboratory, smoke or fire damage, a radioactivity leak, impact or corrosive substance damage. This is a very important first stage to determine the level of PPE that will be required to properly assess the instrument in a safe manner and whether we will be required to remove the instrument from the customer site prior to testing. It also allows us to determine whether instrument failures are a direct or indirect result of the disaster in question or whether it is historical to the instrument.
Stage 2. Next we remove all the covers, perform earth continuity tests to determine the instrument is safe to operate, then visually inspect all boards, cables and moving parts for any signs of damage or decay. We then assign a colour code based on a simple traffic light system dependent on condition.
Stage 3. Unless the equipment is considered Red Coded, A PAT test is performed using our own calibrated PAT equipment
Stage 4. If the PAT test passes we then power on the instrument to see if it completes initialisation without error. At this stage we also attempt communication if an acquisition PC is used with the instrument.
Stage 5. Next we function test the equipment, attempting to perform as many different functions as necessary to prove unaffected system operation, this will include performing instrument voltage checks, valve switching, motor and flag checks, lamp ignitions etc.
Stage 6. Finally if requested we can perform a complete OQ check of the instrument confirming that it operates and performs within instrument manufacturer specifications.
At the end of the assessment we produce a thorough and detailed report highlighting all our findings with the equipment and any conclusions/recommendations to return the instrument to full working order, or whether we believe the insturment will be beyond economical repair. A clear and precise summary table is also included for clarity.
