LTC 6

Part 2. Week 7 Assignment 3: Instructor Guidance

Sep 25, 2022 4:11 PM

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Hi Class and Happy Sunday!

As shared in the prior announcements, there are Two Parts for The Week 7 Assignment 3 Instructor Guidance.

· The is the second announcement  Part 2. Week 7 Assignment 3: Instructor Guidance.

· If you are not familiar on how to conduct a DFMEA, it is recommended that you read both announcements, Part One and Part Two.

General Questions Reminder: If you have general questions, please use the Ask the Professor Discussion Forum.

General Assignment Tips:

After selecting one of the secured units from Aspect A, you will conduct a DFMEA Review for that facility and address each requirement as described in the assignment prompt. 

DFMEA and FMEA: General Information and Introduction to DFMEA and FMEA

DFMEA is a type of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), but this specific process examines the “failures” of a product design to assists in implementing design controls. However, for our specific assignment, we are not only examining specific products’ failing points, but we are also expanding this process to the facility and setting level, known as physical plants.

Example of Product Design under Facility/Setting/Unit Design: There can be product design failure points, within the facility/setting/unit design, such as an assisted living community that offers a locked memory care unit that safety products (such as alarms) fail.

Facility Rounding Steps as the Plant Facility Manager : (Assists with the DFMEA Report)

As you apply your rounding approach and plant facility lens, consider picturing the setting in your mind and apply some of the steps below as you “virtually walk” (in your mind) the LTC setting. You will use the details from Aspect A, as your guide, to assist you in discussing these items.

You should also conduct research on potential failures and risks associated to locked healthcare units and locked/secured healthcare facilities.

Read Aspect B of the Report to address each requirement. 

The steps, below, are recommendations to assist you in the DFMEA Review.  You do not have to write about all these in the assignment, but this guide helps you identify the requirements to address the assignment’s information.

Overview of DFMEA Review Steps:

1. Facility Design Review : Assess the part of the facility, unit, or specific product; and determine its function.

a. Example:  If you identified a specific type of locking mechanism for a door or egress, ask yourself questions like:

i. What is the purpose or intent of that locking mechanism or locking device?

ii. How is it supposed to work? How does it work?

iii. What is the device/physical plant item supposed to do for the LTC residents or staff?

iv. How does this device/physical plant item protect the LTC residents or keep them safe?

b. Repeat the example process above, for each product or facility design element that you are addressing. Provide these details in your discussion.

c. Tip: Aspect B calls for two failure modes, so you need to identify at least two product or physical plant design items to address.

2. Identify Potential Failure Modes : Identify and list the ways that the part, product, or physical plant aspect could fail, based on the information from Step  Tip: The assignment prompt requires two points of failure.

3. Identify Potential Failure Effects : Create a list of the possible different ways the effects of the identified failure modes (from Step 2) could fail.

4. Identify Potential Causes of Failure : Identify the design element that could possibly contribute to the potential failures that you previously identified.  Tip: Apply the steps above to determine this step.

4. Assign Severity Rankings and Occurrence Ranking : Decide on the severity ranking for these failures, using a scale of 1 to 10. Determine the chance (occurrence ranking) of failure from 1 to 10.  Tip on Severity Ranking: One is the lowest severity risk and 10 is the highest severity risk level.  Tip on Occurrence Ranking: Level one would be highly unlikely to occur and 10 would be extremely likely to occur.

6. Identify Controls, Create a Plan, and Assign Responsible Parties : After you have conducted each step for the product/physical plant failures, then create a plan for the facility.  Tip: See the Facility-Level Responses & Assigned Responsibilities in the assignment prompt to appropriately discuss this part of the assignment.

Aspect Level Overview: (Aspects B through D)

Aspect C: Visual Aid of Your Findings . You need to include a visual aid, based on the information you provided in Aspect B.

Links to a few websites for additional  visual aid examples:

https://www.harpcosystems.com/learn/resources/what-is-design-fmea-article

https://limblecmms.com/blog/dfmea-pfmea/

https://safetyculture.com/topics/dfmea-design-failure-mode-and-effects-analysis/

Aspect D: Assessment of Your Findings.  The final portion of your report will provide an assessment of your findings. There is a list of items that should be discussed in the assignment prompt, be sure to include those topics in your findings’ assessment.

Part 1. Week 7 Assignment 3: Instructor Guidance

Sep 23, 2022 5:12 PM

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Hi Class and Happy Friday!

I hope you find this formation beneficial, as I wanted to offer sufficient details.  I plan on posting Part 2 of this announcement by Sunday. Part 2 will provide an overview of DFMEA. 

General Questions Reminder: If you have general questions, please use the Ask the Professor Discussion Forum.

The Report has Two Main Sections:

· Identifying and Describing Two Types of Secured Units  (Aspect A)

· Selecting One Setting for the DFMEA Drill  (Aspect B through Aspect D)

General Assignment Tips:

Secured UNIT Note: The term secured unit used the assignment prompt, but this term can also be viewed as setting, facility, location, etc.

When working on this upcoming assignment, consider viewing the design of the physical plant for secured units, or for any entire facility that is secured, by applying some of these roles, as you work through the DFMEA processes:

· physical plant manager

· life safety manager

· plant operations manager

· or as a Life Safety Inspector’s lens.

You may want to view this process as though you were rounding at a facility and examining the various Life Safety regulations; Fire Safety regulations; and overall facility concerns.  Consider the potential ways the facility design could fail; how they could fail; and what design elements or products contributed to the potential failures. You should also consider the impact on the long-term residents, the employees, visitors, and any stakeholder or party that may enter, live, or use, this LTC setting.

Approach Options for the Report: Actual or Hypothetical

· Your selections can be two actual facilities; two hypothetical facilities; or select, one of each. 

· Each aspect-level requirement must be discussed, as defined within the assignment prompt.

· If you cannot be identify the information for an actual facility, then you will need to provide a possible description of that specific information. Do not exclude it from the report.

· Your facility descriptions will need to include the source of the information provided.

Students  May NOT use this exact example  (below) for their submission . The Aspect A. Example is ONLY a SUMMARY. 

Aspect A. Secured Unit 2 Example

Example Introduction Aspect A.  (without details on secured unit 1):

Two secured units are presented within the first aspect of this report, applying specific licensure requirements, applicable regulations, and physical plant information.   The second secured unit can be summarized a free-standing, assisted living facility that offers memory care services located in the Dallas Texas (National Fire Protection Association [NFPA] 101, 2018; Texas Health and Human Services [THHS] 2018a; & THHS, 2018b). Memory care assisted living facilities should provide homelike environments, offering the highest quality standards for physical plant safety; quality of care delivery; and create an excellent experience for all stakeholders. Therefore, the second secured unit, discussed in Aspect A will be applied for the DFMEA review, as opportunities for improvement have been identified.

General Information about Secured Unit 2

· Actual LTC Facility or Hypothetical LTC Facility: Hypothetical ALF

· Facility Name: Summerset Village of Dallas (Fictional Name)

· Location: Dallas, TX

· Type of LTC Secured Setting: Memory Care Assisted Living Facility (THHS, 2018b.)

· Regulatory Bodies: (See the note about the regulatory bodies)

· National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101 of the Life Safety Code (National Fire Protection Association [NFPA] 101, 2018)

· Texas Health and Human Services (THHSa. & THHSb.)

· Life Safety Code under the Code of Federal Regulations for Physical Environment

· State Operations Manual for Life Safety Surveys

Specific LTC Licensure Type (as defined by the state residence): Per Texas Regulations, this facility is licensed as an ALF with memory care services that comply with Texas locking mechanism requirements for “Certified Alzheimer’s Assisted Living Facilities, TM 18-01-ALF,” (THHSa, 2018, part 1.0.). This facility would be classified as a free-standing “large facility” per the Texas Health and Human Services Commission requirements for licensing standards (THHSb, 2018).

Table 1. Physical Plant Overview:

Critical Notes

Table Notes:  This table is not a detailed description, as noted within the assignment prompt requirements. Some items such as the locking arrangements should be discussed in greater detail with information of type of locking devices, secured device descriptions, means of egress, etc. You may want to dedicate a paragraph, or more, to the locking devices and characteristics for your report.

Note on Regulatory Bodies ( in the example): If this was a full report for the assignment, then I would need to include each regulatory body in the references, citing the specific details for each reference used in the report.

The  first two regulatory bodies, listed in the example above, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101 of the Life Safety Code and the Texas Health and Human Services  show how may look for each applicable licensure requirement and regulatory body requirement.

The other regulatory bodies that are listed, in the example, do not provide the specific details of the source. Students will have to provide the state-level information, the federal-level information, and any applicable Life Safety, NFPA, and physical plant information for their assignment.

Notes on Resources : Refer  the "Resources to Assist You with this Assignment" in the prompt to identify some possible specific codes and regulations.  These resources should be applied to each secured unit that is discussed in Aspect A and applied to the DFMEA Review for Aspects B through D. 

Note about Example Introduction Aspect A. (without details on secured unit 1): The following information could be viewed as the thesis statement for the report: Memory care assisted living facilities should provide homelike environments, offering the highest quality standards for physical plant safety; quality of care delivery; and create an excellent experience for all stakeholders. Therefore, the second secured unit, discussed in Aspect A will be applied for the DFMEA review, as opportunities for improvement have been identified.

References: (See the notes on Regulatory Bodies and Resources) Please also note that your references ONLY need to be placed on your Reference Page and do NOT have to be provided within each Aspect.

Texas Health and Human Services. (2018a, June). Licensing standards for assisted living facilities handbook.  Texas Health and Human Services Commission.  http://tala.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ALF-Regs-June-2018.pdf

Texas Health and Human Services. (2018b, August 29). Long-term care regulatory technical memorandum.  Texas Health and Human Services Commission.  https://www.hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/providers/communications/2018/ltcr-tech-memo/TM2018-01.pdf

Hopefully, this additional guidance was helpful.