Automatic Brine Delivery for Hospital Application
PinnacleHealth, West Shore Hospital, Mechanicsburg, PASituation
The Vision 2017 plan was to develop the same world-class care facility that residents have come to expect from PinnacleHealth. PinnacleHealth opened its West Shore Hospital in 2014 as a model of that care. In the planning of this facility, the project owner and Mechanical Design engineer learned of the AUTOBrine® System that provided a best-in-class solution for brine supply to the water softeners.
Challenge
- Reduce the storage space needed for salt pallets
- Ensure consistent brine supply to water softeners
- Reduce employee risk when handling bag salt
- Reduce the equipment expense for handling salt
- Maintain a secure environment for the hospital
Solution
The Engineer recommended the installation an AUTOBrine® System. The system allows for cost control while supplying a consistent >95% saturated brine automatically, on-demand. The brine maker is located below ground, outside in a minimum security area which maintains the hospital’s security during salt delivery. This system has allowed more effective use of the planned maintenance staff and eliminated the following: the need for receiving deliveries of bagged salt, the need for storage space for pallets of salt, the risk of employee injury, and the need for equipment to handle heavy salt bags.
Results
- Eliminated the need for storage footprint for pallets of salt estimated at $150,000 savings
- Estimated $5000 operations cost savings annually
- Estimated 11,000 lbs. Carbon Footprint reduction annually
- >95% saturated brine is delivered on-demand providing consistent supply
- Eliminated the risk of Workers’ Compensation injuries related to handling salt bags
- Eliminated facility access to deliver salt which maintains a secure environment
