All radiation machine facilities are required to have preventive maintenance performed on their radiation machines at the interval recommended by the manufacturer for each machine. Facilities are also required to submit a copy of their preventive maintenance service report including test results to the Department no later than 30 days after the maintenance service has been performed on each radiation machine.
The applicable regulations require each registrant to:
- Maintain each radiation machine in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended maintenance specifications;
- Perform maintenance at least annually if the recommended maintenance schedule is not available from the manufacturer;
- Maintain documentation that the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule has been met. Such documentation shall include a detailed service report that includes the results of all tests performed by the registered service company; and
- Provide to the Department written documentation sufficient to demonstrate that the required preventive maintenance has been performed. The Department must receive such documentation no later than thirty days following performance of this maintenance.
Preventive maintenance must be performed by a registered service provider. A listing of registered service providers qualified to perform preventive maintenance of radiation machines may be found at List of X-ray Service Providers. The service provider will give you a copy of the preventive maintenance service report upon competion of preventive maintenance service on each radiation machine.
Instructions for Submission to the Department
It is the facility's responsibility to submit each preventive maintenance service report to the Department. It is preferred that preventive maintenance reports be submitted electronically as an e-mail attachment. The e-mail with attachment should be sent to
preventive.maintenance@maryland.gov.
Please note that we cannot accept compressed (.zip) files, or files which, with attachment, will exceed 10 MB.
If you are unable to create an electronic preventive maintenance report which can be attached as a file to an e-mail, you may fax or mail preventive maintenance reports. The fax telephone number is 410-537-3198. Mail should be sent to Shannon Page, Radiological Health Program, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 750, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.
When is your next Preventive Maintenance due?
Preventive maintenance intervals vary by machine type. Many radiation machines are recommended to undergo annual preventive maintenance, but other machines have a more or less frequent manufacturer recommendation.
Example
Your radiation machine number 00000 is recommended to have preventive maintenance every 12 months (note that recommended maintenance schedules will vary with the type and model of radiation machine).
The last preventive maintenance for machine 00000 was performed January 4, 2019.
Based on this machine's maintenance schedule, the next preventive maintenance on machine 00000 should be performed by a registered service provider by January 4, 2020.
Receipt by the Department of a copy of the preventive maintenance service report on machine 00000 is due by 30 days following the date of maintenance service, or in this case by February 3, 2020.
Contact Information
Questions about preventive maintenance should be directed to Shannon Page, Radiological Health Program, 1800 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21230. Ms. Page may be reached at 410-537-4214 or
spage@maryland.gov.
Additional Information for Service Providers
For those types of radiation machines for which the Department has created a standardized form, the Department form must be used.
For other types of machines, the Department requires that all preventive maintenance service reports contain sufficient information for the Department to determine that the machine is operating within the manufacturer's performance specifications. Reports must include information on timer accuracy (measured vs. set), timer reproducibility, kVp accuracy (measured vs. indicated), half value layer (observed vs. required), field size (veterinary, cephalometric, panoral) including measured error in SID for width and length, and any additional tests required to certify that the machine meets State requirements.
