Why Medical Service Requires Special Management
Medical device service differs from other technical service areas in several fundamental ways:
1. Legal obligation: Maintenance and calibration records must be kept under Ministry of Health and CE/MDR regulations.
2. Patient safety: A poorly calibrated or unmaintained device directly affects human health.
3. Certified technician requirement: For many medical devices, service can only be performed by technicians with specific certifications.
4. Calibration certificate: Every maintenance and calibration activity must be documented and signed.
These conditions make paper-based systems nearly non-functional in the medical sector.
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Automating Calibration Tracking
Every medical device has defined calibration intervals: monthly, quarterly, annually. Tracking these dates is critical. A missed calibration:
- Results in a legal violation.
- Creates problems in insurance or accreditation processes.
- May cause the device to be taken out of service.
The FSM system:
- Stores each device's calibration interval and last date.
- Sends automatic reminders to the relevant technician and manager as calibration dates approach.
- Automatically loads the required form template (measurement values, reference standard, error margin) when a calibration work order is created.
- Archives completed calibrations as digital certificates that can be downloaded from the customer portal.
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Device-Level Service History
Being able to access the complete lifetime service and calibration history of an MRI, ultrasound, or anesthesia device in a hospital from a single screen is critically important.
The digital work order system stores for each device:
- Serial number, model, and manufacture date
- Warranty information and contract terms
- All maintenance and fault records sorted by date
- Spare parts used and components replaced
- Calibration certificates and measurement values
- Technician certification information (who performed the work)
At the time of inspection, all this information can be presented as a single report.
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Certified Technician Assignment
In medical device service, certain work can only be performed by technicians with specific certifications. Checking this compliance manually — especially with large teams — is error-prone.
The FSM system:
- Stores which device groups and brands each technician is certified for.
- Filters eligible technicians by device type when a work order is created.
- Generates alerts for technicians with upcoming certification expiry dates.
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Reporting for Corporate Clients Like B.Braun
Large medical equipment manufacturers or distributors like B.Braun require periodic reporting from their authorized service networks. These reports include:
- Maintenance activity summaries
- Calibration verification records
- Parts usage statistics
- Customer (hospital/clinic) service history
With FieldCo, these reports are automatically generated and exported in standard formats — no manual compilation needed.
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Inventory: Managing Critical Parts
Medical device spare parts are often imported, expensive, and have long lead times. This makes stock management critically important.
- The service life and expiry dates of each part are tracked.
- Minimum stock levels and automatic alerts are set for critical parts.
- Which part was used for which device model and which customer is fully recorded.
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Conclusion
Medical device service is a zero-error-tolerance field. A digital FSM system in this area does not just increase efficiency — it safeguards regulatory compliance, supports patient safety, and projects a professional image to institutional clients.
Field service management (FSM) software: features and selection guide →
