Washington Hospital Center

Challenge: Upgrade Boilers and Improve Emissions Levels

The Washington Hospital Center, a 900-bed hospital, serves as the flagship hospital for MedStar Health and is one of the largest medical centers in Washington, D.C. The facility is the referral center for patients with complex conditions, as well as a safety-net hospital. A central plant supports the entire medical center campus.

When Washington Hospital Center wanted to launch a transformative project to upgrade all six boilers in their central plant, they engaged ACI to tackle this daunting challenge. The existing equipment, dating back to 1955, was not only outdated but also failing to meet new emissions regulations. Given their age, the burners were not loading oxygen properly, resulting in emissions that were above the limits set by the D.C. government. ACI’s team of experts rose to the challenge and developed a comprehensive solution that not only brought the boilers into compliance with the latest regulations but also set the stage for a greener future. 

Solution

Due to the hospital’s 24/7 operations and the need for boiler redundancy, a completeshutdown of the boilers during the improvement project was not a viable option. It was essential that a phased approach be implemented to eliminate disruptions to patient care and ensure that each boiler was fully commissioned before work on the next boiler began. ACI developed a plan to upgrade all six boilers at the client’s site while also maintaining redundancy, in accordance with hospital policy, to ensure that the upgraded boilers were commissioned before starting on the next upgrade.

ACI’s certified team split the project into two phases, upgrading the winter-use boilers in the summer and summer-use boilers in the winter, to eliminate any downtime and ensure that hospital operations could continue around the clock. 

 

Results

It was crucial for the hospital to find a partner who could manage the project in a manner that would ensure continuity of operations for the hospital and ultimately patient care. Because of ACI’s exceptional service and achievements in the first phase of this project, Washington Hospital has entrusted ACI with continuing the upgrading of their boilers. ACI’s phased off-season approach ensures minimum disruption to the hospital’s operations and ensures the facilities continue to run smoothly.

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