How open GS1 standards give engineering teams trusted information to respond quickly and safely. By Dan O'Gorman, Engagement Consultant, Construction, GS1 Ireland
Hospitals are among the most complex buildings in operation. Behind every operating theatre is an interconnected network of ventilation, electrical, medical gas, water and control systems.
When a critical asset fails, the consequences can extend beyond the plant room, affecting patient safety and placing additional pressure on frontline staff who depend on uninterrupted services.
Digital Continuity, often described as the ‘golden thread’ in construction, can maintain trusted information from design intent, product selection, installation and commissioning through to facilities management, maintenance and replacement.
It can enable engineers to identify an asset, locate it, understand the systems it supports, review its history and access the information needed to maintain or repair it safely.
From prevention to faster intervention
Prevention remains the priority. Inspection, maintenance, sensor and performance data deliver their full value only when reliably linked to the correct asset. A persistent identity turns isolated observations into a coherent history, helping teams detect deterioration before it disrupts clinical services.
When preventive measures do not avert failure, response time becomes critical. The New Drammen Hospital in Norway provides a practical example of GS1 standards in action.
GS1 Global Location Numbers (GLNs) identify rooms and locations, while GS1 Global Individual Asset Identifiers (GIAIs) identify core maintainable assets. These shared, system-independent, interoperable and globally unique identifiers reduce dependence on any single technology provider.
GS1 Digital Link-enabled 2D barcodes and RFID tags connect each physical asset or location to relevant distributed digital records through a simple scan.
Eximius, working with GS1 Norway, implemented an open, standards-based architecture that makes assets and their locations visible to facilities management systems. GS1 EPCIS 2.0-based systems can record what, where and when an event happened, while GS1 Digital Link helps present distributed information appropriate to the user’s needs, through one interface.
In the plant room
Consider a time-critical computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) work order for an air-handling unit serving an operating theatre. Scanning the GLN tag at the plant-room door can provide directions to the asset requiring attention.
At the asset, scanning its GIAI tag can give the technician access to the operation and maintenance manual, service history, live sensor data and spare-parts availability, regardless of the repositories in which they are stored, while also enabling the root cause and remedial work to be recorded.
Detect the problem earlier. Find the location faster. Identify the correct asset and remedy. Put trusted information in the technician’s hands. Restore the system safely and record the intervention.
This is Digital Continuity in operation: open, interoperable and persistent standards connecting the physical hospital, its information and the people responsible for maintaining critical infrastructure around the clock.
The outcome is not simply better data. It is faster, safer decision-making that protects clinical capacity by providing reliable information at the point of need.
For more information, please get in touch with Dan O’Gorman, engagement consultant – construction, GS1 Ireland dan.ogorman@gs1ie.org
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