Week 1 - Getting started

Hej!

My name is Martin and will along with my colleague Simon organize and carry out the project concerning the solar powered UPS-system (uninterruptible power supply) at Kolandoto Hospital and we are in this blog intending to share the work process.

Kolandoto hospital are suffering from regular power-outages which are occurring approximately 2 times per week and what makes this problem significant is its impact on the daily activities in the operating theaters. There has hence been a request for a back-up system for the three operating theaters; General theater, Maternity theater and Eye theatre.

Even though the first week has been filled with alot of new impressions we have still managed to conduct a lot of work to set this project in motion. We have during our first week:

- Met with the company which will carry out the installations

- Collected enough information about the grid condition of the hospital in order to establish a good overview
- Written a description for how we wish the work to be conducted
- Decided upon where the batteries and inverters will be stored in the Maternity- and Eye theater
- Had a final discussion with the hospital management regarding what is to be considered as a critical load in the theaters 

The following are pictures from the week that has passed to sum up our first experience of Tanzania and Kolandoto Hospital.

 Delivery room in maternity ward
  

 Outside maternity ward
  

 Simon standing in front of the generator house and the feeding transformer
  

 Passing Victoria Lake on our way from Mwanza to Kolandoto
  

Shops by the road from Mwanza to Kolandoto

Hope you enjoyed!

- Martin

Welcome!

Better late than never, that's what they say right? The first of us, Lisa, Nathalie, Stina, Annika and Michael, arrived at Kolandoto 12 days ago and we're starting to get settled in. Annika and Michael were here for a couple of days the first week to give the project a jump start and it sure worked! We were all exhausted after all the meetings and tours the first days. Eric and Therance arrived last Friday and we're now all busy with our separate projects.

I (Lisa) am planning and conducting workshops for the new emergency department every Friday. The first one, an introduction workshop, was carried out last Friday and it went very well. The work group discussed threats/weaknesses and strenghts/opportunities for the emergency care given at the hospital.

 

3 of the members of the emergency department work group. 

We did a "3 + 3 workshop" both regarding the present and the future. All participants got post-it notes to write down three bad things and three good things about the present which was then presented to the group and followed by a discussion to pick out the three most important ones. After that the participants got to write 3 more notes about future opportunities, the dream scenario. These were also presented and discussed. Three of the opportunities for the future were also picked out and pinned to the wall.

I presented the time plan in the beginning of the workshop, next to it is the final 3 +3 (+3).

The result of the workshop is nine important things to consider in the future process of designing both the building for emergency care and the emergency care policy. I'm writing a conceptual program for the emergency department as a result of this workshop and this is to be presented tomorrow when the work group meets again.

I'm also looking into planning a study visit with the work group to one of the other hospitals nearby. Dr. Katani is helping me to get in contact with the regional hospital in Shinyanga to see if they have built the emergency department they were planning last year.

The staff here at the hospital has been very welcoming and eager to help. I've been sneaking around taking measurements of some of the buildings the last couple of days and I often get help and curious questions, especially about the laser meter. It is very nifty, big thanks to Annika for letting me borrow it!

Stina and Nathalie have been focusing on the waste zone upgrade and been in contact with the company who can possibly deliver and install the Dosatrone at the pump house. I'll leave the details about it to Stina and Nathalie.

Eric and Therance, having arrived a little later than the rest of us has had a couple of busy days inventorying the electricity system at the hospital and getting all the figures for the equipment and lamps and whatnot. The plan is to get tenders from Davis and Shirtliff as soon as possible to make a decision on the future UPS system. I'll leave it to Eric and Therance to write more about it when time comes.

Now, it's soon time for dinner and some more preparation for my second workshop tomorrow!