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Mechanical engineering at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen

Saving lives with functional technical supply systems

 

The 48 members of staff in the team at present work around the clock, 365 days a year, to ensure the smooth running of our Uniklinikum Erlangen. They ensure a reliable supply of medical gases for patients on ventilation. They ensure cooling and air conditioning units function correctly in operating theaters and intensive care units. Our engineering team are also responsible for the entire drinking water supply and heating systems at UKER, as well as the smooth operating of all manual and automatic doors in the buildings, to mention just a few of their responsibilities. Our staff are experts in their subject areas. Each working day brings new, exciting challenges that we master to ensure our patients are provided for safely and reliably.

 

Cooling systems

The cooling systems team takes care of all cooling systems at UKER. They carry out inspection, maintenance and repair works on all of our centralized and decentralized cooling systems.  This includes large water chilling units involved in cold water distribution, convection cooling systems, adsorption chillers, re-cooling plants, variable refrigerant flow plants and a number of split devices.

We are certified in accordance with the F-Gas Regulation (EU). In order to ensure the hygienic operation of our chilling systems, our refrigeration technicians and mechatronics engineers specializing in cooling systems have the certification they require to work with our cooling systems and are qualified pursuant to VDI 6022 and VDI 2047.

We offer subject-specific options for professional development, for example:

  • Air hygiene training pursuant to VDI 6022, category B
  • Certification pursuant to VDI 2047, page 2: Ensuring hygienic operation of evaporation coolers
  • Manufacturers’ service training courses and certification for cooling systems
  • Training course according to Directive on Machinery 2006/42/EC V5
  • Training courses focusing on chilling systems

Medical Gases and Mechatronics

In one of our areas of responsibility, our specialists ensure that the university hospital is supplied with medical and technical gases. They make an important contribution to patient care by ensuring an uninterrupted supply of compressed air and oxygen and by operating our vacuum systems. As well as operating various generating plants and tank facilities, they are also responsible for a network comprising approximately 80 km of compressed air pipelines, and 60 km of oxygen pipelines supplying over 8,000 supply points at Uniklinikum Erlangen.

In our other major area, skilled metal workers work in our modern and well-equipped workshop, where they are responsible for the inspection, maintenance and repair of all objects that have mechanical or mechatronical components. This includes fire doors as well as power-operated, manual and automatic doors. Our staff are also responsible for gates and windows, as well as all door components of relevance for safety such as locks and door closers. They are responsible for everything that involves working with metal and fabricate all types of metal constructions.

We offer subject-specific options for professional development, for example:

  • Skilled electrician for specified tasks
  • Specialist for power-operated windows, doors and gates
  • Authorized specialist for fire doors and gates, specialist for detection devices
  • Certification for dealing with manufacturer-specific medical products
  • Specialist for opening systems

“We have a vision for the future concerning the safe operating of our systems and put this into practice. Working at Uniklinikum Erlangen means taking on responsibility. We allow our staff to work independently with the aim of mastering the challenges that arise on a daily basis, making an important contribution to safe patient care.”

Wolfgang Emrich, head of Medical Gases and Mechatronics (Gc-M1)

Ventilation and air conditioning technology, measurement, control and regulation technology, and cogeneration units

As specialists in their areas, our staff look after all ventilation units at Uniklinikum Erlangen and our cogeneration units. They are responsible for the electrical installation and the measurement, control and regulation technology for all control cabinets in our technical supply systems.

Our specialists are responsible for inspecting, maintaining and repairing all types of ventilation and air conditioning systems. This also applies to our operating theaters and intensive care units, where hygiene is highly relevant, and to the medical production area in our pharmacy, where quality assurance is key. Our staff are committed to ensuring the basic conditions for a safe and hygienic supply of air at Uniklinikum Erlangen. In addition, they also provide valuable maintenance works on our cogeneration units to provide heating, cooling and electricity to certain areas of the hospital.

With their specialized knowledge in different areas of measurement, control and regulation technology and control technology systems, our staff ensure that all the units in the mechanical engineering department are controlled and monitored correctly at all times.

We offer subject-specific options for professional development, for example:

  • Ventilation and air conditioning technology in health care DIN 1946-4
  • Air hygiene training pursuant to VDI 6022, category B
  • Training courses on ventilation filters
  • Professional development in building management systems
  • Programming controllers at the process level
  • BACnet technology

Plumbing, heating and district heating

Our team ensures the smooth running of plumbing and heating supply systems at Uniklinikum Erlangen, without which the hospital would come to a complete standstill. It ensures a reliable supply of utilities thanks to water supply systems, water purification systems, sewage systems, neutralization and decontamination systems, pressure boosting systems, fire extinguishing systems and sprinkler units, neighborhood heating and district heating plants and steam systems. Thanks to our plumbing, heating and air conditioning specialists, running water is always on tap at UKER and no-one ever has to go cold. Clean steam is also always available for sterilizing products or preparing food.

 

We offer subject-specific options for professional development, for example:

  • Training in drinking water hygiene pursuant to VDI 6023, category B
  • Training to become qualified for checking sprinkler units
  • Training as a boiler operator
  • Specialist for light fluid separators
  • Fire protection officer for gas extinguishing systems

Benefits of working in mechanical engineering

Certified areas of work

Our cooling systems area is certified pursuant to the Chemicals-Climate Protection Ordinance and the F-Gas Regulation (EU). Our plumbing, heating and district heating team is listed with the municipal water supplier as a plumbing company.

 

Modern workshops

Our well-equipped workshops allow us to perform work of the highest standard. In the areas of mechatronics and metalwork, we have highly modern metalworking machines like those found in large metal-processing companies. We operate our own key-cutting workshop for producing all types of keys.

 

Modern hardware and software

We have modern computer terminals we can use for working on documentation. We use various manufacturer’s software tools to access the service level of our control systems. When working on our systems themselves, we use mobile devices for direct digital documentation.

 

Working independently

Unlike traditional tradespeople and fitters, our staff act as service technicians. They carry out their tasks independently, gain expertise in their specific areas on their own initiative and act as project managers when managing external companies commissioned with carrying out a job.

 

Professional onboarding

Our teams offer an excellent onboarding process. In particular, those team members who have worked at UKER for many years now are on hand to provide advice based on their wealth of professional experience if any questions arise.

 

Training programs for professional development

We offer a wide number of opportunities for training and professional development. Alongside working, our staff can pursue additional training to become a master of their trade (Meister) or to become a technician. It is also possible for you to complete a second apprenticeship while working at UKER, for example to become to skilled electrician.

 

8000gas supply points
Medical gases are delivered to the supply points via pipelines measuring a total of 140km.
850ventilation and air conditioning units
We operate a wide range of ventilation and air conditioning units depending on the various ventilation and air conditioning requirements.
2500cooling units
UKER has installed refrigeration units, internal and external units and convection coolers for cooling purposes.
19000kW district heating
We supply most buildings in Uniklinikum Erlangen with our own district heating network.

Your benefits at UKER

As one of the largest employers in Middle Franconia, we are at the cutting-edge of medicine thanks to our more than 9,600 highly qualified employees in a wide spectrum of different occupations. Our joint success hinges on appreciation of each other’s work and a good work-life balance.

 

Discover your benefits

 

Working at UKER

Outstanding patient care, award-winning research and teaching and cutting-edge medicine is what defines us, Uniklinikum Erlangen We have a clear objective in our sights and are dedicated to do all we can to reach it: carrying out the many and varied tasks of a hospital providing world-class supramaximal medical care.

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