The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) is accepting applications from technical experts to participate on the Medical Gas Resiliency Task Group.

The scope of the Medical Gas Resiliency Task Group is to develop modifications to medical gas design/installation guidance to allow medical gas systems to be more responsive in handling variable loads, such as those seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The task group will also look at the following:

• Using concentrators to help mitigate oxygen supply issues, especially for remote critical care facilities.
• Using oxygen pressure regulators near the zone valve box to expand/reduce pressure losses through the system as demand increases or decreases;
• Providing peer-reviewed elevated pressure charts for oxygen and medical air to provide better guidance for designers/engineers to use in conjunction with pressure regulators;
• Incorporating auxiliary connections for quicker source system expansion;
• Idea generation with task group members.

Task group members will participate via conference call or web meeting, provide their perspective on the code, and assist in drafting recommendations for action by the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) Technical Committee and other medical gas industry codes, standards, and guidelines. Applicants are not required to be members of the UPCTechnical Committee. It is anticipated that all meetings will be virtual, but if travel is required, meetings would be held at IAPMO World Headquarters (West) in Ontario, California. 

Those interested in participating on the Medical Gas Resiliency Task Group may apply at the following URL: https://forms.iapmo.org/iapmo/committee/app_innovation_taskgroup.aspx.

The deadline to apply is Oct. 22.

First published by IAPMO in 1945, the UPC is developed to govern the erection, installation, alteration, repair, relocation, replacement, addition to, use, or maintenance of plumbing systems as a means of promoting the public's health, safety, and welfare. Developed and subsequently republished at the conclusion of each three-year code cycle, the Uniform Codes are designed to provide consumers with safe plumbing, mechanical, and solar energy systems while, at the same time, allowing latitude for innovation and new technologies.

Interested individuals may contact Christoph Lohr at 909-731-0219 or by email at christoph.lohr@iapmo.org.