V.B.A. NEWS vol.2 no.2 October 1995 

 Virginia Biomedical Association Second Annual Meeting

 The second annual VBA meeting was held on August 7, 1995.

The meeting was called to order by Mary Frye, president. Mary welcomed everyone and thanked them for their efforts this past year regarding the VBA. There are three members of the VBA serving on the SBET national organization. They are Mary Frye, Steve Haupt and Mike Carlton. This year Biomed week will be for an entire week in November - slight error last year - sorry. Mary noted several accomplishments of the VBA this past year and encouraged everyone to be on the lookout for events in the future. This year we had twenty two venders and seven classes. Our tax exempt status is still pending, these things take time you know. Mary's closing comments were that membership in the VBA was a two way commitment. The VBA board of directors is committed to bringing you quality classes and programs. You need to be committed to voicing your ideas/needs and support whenever possible.

 Rick Davis presented the changes in the bylaws. What!! Changes already? They were as follows: 1. Adding the Retiree status under Membership Categories and 2. Adjusting the wording on committees to read "reports to" instead of "chaired by". These changes were reviewed by all present and approved by voice vote.

 Mark Freeman, chairman of publishing committee, recognized the members of his committee that were present. He again encouraged people to send in articles and to offer comments.

 James Anderson noted that there are 171 total members in the VBA to date. He also mentioned the new address for sending in changes to the roster would be P.O. Box 3782, Fredricksburg, Va 22402.

 Steve Haupt brought up the finical information. We currently have about $16,000.00 in checking. He also noted the interest in E mail he has received and how much he enjoys using it. Through E mail, he is able to communicate to BMETs all over the country and exchange ideas.

 Two questions were raised from the floor. Are VBA members able to receive reduced AAMI membership and how is that accomplished? The answers will be forth coming in the newsletter.

 The reelected board members were Lis Carroll, James Anderson, Rick Davis, and Ben Clark. These persons will serve another two years on the board of directors. Elected new to the board and also serving two years is Steve Germain.

 This year registrants were asked to nominate a fellow biomed for the Biomed of the Year Award. Board members were excluded from this process. This year the award went to Mark Hammond of Riverside Walter Reed Hospital. Mark will receive a $100.00 check as recipient of this award. The meeting was then adjourned and we all promptly left.

 Submitted By: Mike Carlton

VBA Recording Secretary

 THE ART OF TROUBLESHOOTING

 Troubleshooter. As defined by Webster's, "a person charged with locating and eliminating the source of trouble ......". This is what we as Biomeds do to earn our living. This definition can also be applied to the jobs of physicians, managers, and maintenance personnel. The difference is obviously what you troubleshoot, and the training and skills needed, but the common thread here is the ability employ the tools required to analyze the trouble and bring about a solution.

 In our case there is a conflict of opinions between "component level" and "board level" troubleshooters, and recently, I have found myself involved in "lively" discussions on the matter . Having often been accused of being opinionated, I will usually side with the component level group, often to accusations of being a dinosaur. Component level troubleshooters, in response, will refer to a lack of skill required to troubleshoot to the board level, and the usually much higher parts expense. While this subject can be debated endlessly, it is important to realize that both methods are valid, and it is not a question of which one to use, but to what level to take the troubleshooting process, since you must get to the board before you can go for the component. Which level, of course, is dependant on the given situation. This brings out a principle found at the very root of troubleshooting - the judgement call. In any given situation, the technician must analyze his or her knowledge of the equipment, how time-critical the repair is, the nature of the problem, parts availability and cost, etc. and make a decision as to how far he or she will pursue the problem.

  There are times when a component level repair is the quicker, and most effective method. Even staunch board level proponent would not replace a power supply if the only problem is a blown fuse (it's kind of like throwing the baby out with the bath water), although this is actually a component level repair. In addition, someone with modest component level skills can easily repair the most common power supply problem, a shorted rectifier, quickly and without the benefit of a schematic. On the other hand troubleshooting a CPU or related PC board to the component level is often impossible, and generally a waste of time to even try, without highly specialized knowledge and test fixtures.

 That being said, there are two basic processes used to troubleshoot, analysis and shotgunning (random replacement of parts until the problem is solved). Each has their usefulness, though many will scoff at the idea of shotgunning. Analysis is the most efficient method, but it requires knowledge. When the specific knowledge you need runs out, that leaves the shotgunning method. Hopefully, by this time you have narrowed down the possibilities considerably.

 An important advantage of troubleshooting by analysis is that the practice makes you better at it. In contrast you will gain little skill by shotgunning. This leads to an additional benefit of component level work, it forces you to analyze, since shotgunning at this level is usually impractical, in contrast, it is easy to shotgun at the board level while performing little or no analysis. This, however, is not to encourage going to the component level when it is inappropriate.

 Good troubleshooters have a vast array of tools at their disposal, and can often employ them so effortlessly as to totally amaze the less inexperienced. These tools are based in knowledge and include the following:

 1. The ability to remember details of past troubleshooting experiences and apply them as needed.

 2. Specific knowledge of the application and operation of equipment serviced.

 3. Specific knowledge of the internal functions of equipment being serviced.

 4. General knowledge of electronics principles, mechanics, pneumatics, hydraulics etc.

 5. Knowledge of established testing techniques and equipment and ability to develop or assimilate new techniques as needed.

 6. Knowledge of, or ability to determine the relative probability of the problem being in one area vs another.

 7. The ability to assimilate testing results with your base of knowledge, in order to ask the right questions and guide yourself to the next step in the troubleshooting process.

 8. The ability to make a decisive judgement call of the solution to the problem based on your analysis.

 9. The ability to learn from your mistakes and apply them to your knowledge base, instead of letting them discourage you.

 Troubleshooting is basically a solo act. Consider a complex maze with many paths to reach the end. Two different people working independantly will invariably take different paths and each will reach the end. However if they try to work together, they usually end up pulling against each other and will not get there as soon. There are exceptions, a less experienced technician can have a sefety net by using one with more experience for advice and assistance, or one with more experience can work with another in a teaching role, but equals will generally be at odds with each other when working on the same problem.

 They say we are now in a knowledge based society. The art of troubleshooting is deeply rooted in knowledge and its application. It is important to keep an open mind about all techniques and ideas, new and old, and to consider how they can help you accomplish your job. I was taught to toubleshoot while working in a TV repair shop after school. The bench technician there was an old-timer, in his early 60s, and had worked in TV repair all of his life. The thing that impressed me the most is that he refused to ever stop learning. While his peers from the vacuum tube days were complaining that transistorized circuits on replacable modules were making their jobs obsolete, Nick was learning about ICs - he had long since mastered transistors - and he was invariably the one they came to for help with tough problems. The most important lesson I learned there is that as you gain experience you gain knowledge, and by taking in as much additional knowledge as possible, your skill will increase more rapidly. Your skills will then become increasingly greater than the sum of its parts, allowing you to tackle the ever increasing challenge of newer and more complex technology. On the other hand, if you close your mind and decide to stop learning, your skills will wither and die, like the plant you forgot to water.

 Mark Freeman, CBET

Virginia Beach General Hospital

 A Letter To The Vendors

 I would like to thank the following vendors for exhibiting at the Second Annual Virginia Biomedical Association Meeting. Without your participation, this event could not have been successful.

American IV Products

Biotek

Cadmet

Cincinatti Sub-Zero

Ditec

ECPI

Fibertech

Fisher Consultants

Heraeus

Hewlett Packard

Hoffman Surgical

Mace

Marquette

MDE

Medex

Physio Control

Protocol

Sherwood Medical

Spacelabs

Summitt Industries

UHS

Zoll

 A special thanks goes to Spacelabs for sponsoring the buffett luncheon, Fisher Consultants for sponsoring one of the breaks, Sentry for the pen/pencil set (won by Joe Aveni) and to Zoll for the business organizer (won by Tom Barnes).

 Virgil Smoot

Vendor Coordinator

 VBA Board Meeting Minutes, May 20, 1995

 Members present: Mary Frye, Lis Carrol, Rick Davis, Rylan Paxton, Mark Freeman, James Anderson,Mike Carlton.

 Old Business:

President-none

Finance-none

Rules-none

Membership-none

Publication-none

Education-later this report

 New Business:

President- Mary Frye Mary discussed the importance of having the programs we sponsor be quality programs. The annual meeting is coming along fine with some adjustments. More to come.

 Finance- Mike Carlton Finance report presented and accepted. About 15,000 in checking to date. Discussed SBET relationship to local chapters. Have not joined yet, still discussing.

 Rules and Bylaws-Rick Davis Changes to bylaws are ready. Wording concerning retire status has been added. Rewording the required chairperson of various committees has been made. All changes will be presented at the Aug. meeting for membership approval. Changes were approved by board for Aug. Meeting.

 Membership- James Anderson Need to add line on application form to have information sent to membership sec, James. 115 voting members 51 non-voting members to date. Need to talk with third party groups to encourage their involvement in VBA.

 Publication- Mark Freeman Need feedback from people, newsletter good, bad, or otherwise. All comments are welcome. Always need articles, you can get certification points if you write one. Will be publishing personnel movements within the state. New stationary is in. Aug. meeting will have a members packet with a membership list, bylaws, VBA statement.

  Education- Mary Frye VBA promotions for Aug. meeting will be a polo type shirt and mugs. Not sure of VBA week this year, still checking. Radiology class has been postponed not canceled. Certification class coming. Need to encourage participation. Annual meeting is August 7 &8. Virgil is the official vender contact. Nailing down speakers is tricky but we're getting there.

Next board meeting at August meeting

 Submitted By: Mike Carlton

VBA Recording Secretary

 VBA Board Meeting Minutes, August 6, 1995

 Most members were present at different times throughout the evening.

 A rather informal meeting took place to review the events of the coming Annual meeting. Several speakers had last minute scheduling difficulties and could not attend. They will be promptly roasted at their first sighting, just kidding. The space for vendors is all sold out. Thank you Virgil.

 Our most pressing issue of the evening was the proper spelling of the word "hor d'oeu-vre". So far as we can tell at this time things should go well.

 Submitted By: Mike Carlton

VBA Recording Secretary