ISO50001 Certification at Health Facility

The Southern Corsica Polyclinic in Porto Vecchio, France, is a private healthcare institution that welcomes nearly 50,000 patients per year, including 16,000 emergency department patients.

This 80-bed clinic also has a dialysis unit and a medical imaging center (CT, MRI). Its activities are intensive and ongoing. As with all healthcare institutions, energy represents a strategic position, both in terms of continuity of service and patient safety, as well as in terms of budget. Lower energy bills means an opportunity to invest in other areas.

Eager to improve its performance, the clinic embarked on an ISO 50001 certification project. The endeavor was driven by two principles:

• Environmental context: By reducing energy consumption, the establishment actively contributes to environmental preservation by limiting CO2 emissions.
• Economic context: Until the end of 2015, ISO 50001 certification allowed for the enhancement of energy-saving certificates (EECs) granted by Électricité de France (EDF), the local utility company. The bonus was doubled for all eligible works. This presented a considerable opportunity to increase return on investment. Familiar with quality procedures and aware of the requirements of such a project, the clinic’s directorate asked Schneider Electric, an expert in energy management, to help with the certification process.

“We are proud to be ISO 50001 certified. We are one of the first establishments in Corsica among many sectors to have accomplished this. To participate in such a project given an aging building represents a major challenge. We rely a lot on communication so that positive behavior acquired at home can also be applied in the workplace. We work in the interest of the common good so that everyone may win. Through their involvement in the process, the teams have shown that they understand our mission.”
– Jean-Noël Cucchi, Assistant Director of the Southern Corsica Polyclinic

Customer needs and solution

• Methodological support: Document production, energy audits and analyses, recommendations, project management.
• Logistical means: A collaborative, cloud-based management platform.

ISO 50001 certification aims to continuously improve the energy performance of the building.

In partnership with EDF and AF Consulting, an industrial refrigeration specialist, Schneider Electric implemented a four-step approach to achieve certification.

1- Energy planning
– Energy review with on-site audit
– Development of a consumption baseline, as well as improvement plans and performance indicators
– Implementation of measurement systems

This latter is planned for 2016 with regard to specific systems, such as air conditioning and heating, and key medical equipment (MRI, autoclaves, etc.) in order to check the validity of energy use estimates made in 2015.

2- Implementation and operation
– Establishment of an annual action plan
– Inclusion of energy efficiency in all processes
– Communication of results to promote team progress

3- Verification
– Results measurements, comparison with objectives and obligations

4- Management review
– Continued actions to improve performance levels

The clinic received ISO 50001 certification in December 2015 and has seen multiple benefits:

– Access to subsidized EECs
– Improvement of patient and staff comfort
– Implementation of a continuous improvement process and awareness of internal best practices

Learn more about ISO 50001 and other energy-saving practices.