As a facility manager working in a hospital, you are aware that noise is a great nuisance to everybody in the facility. Patients need their quiet time because it plays an integral role in recovery. On the other hand, doctors need a peaceful environment to make better diagnostic decisions for patients. However, with hospital carts moving on castor wheels, maintaining a quiet environment can be a bit tricky. This is especially the case if the moving parts on castor wheels are not appropriately maintained. This article provides essential tips for hospital facility managers on for reducing noise levels on castor wheels.  

Do Not Overload -- You must have come across noisy shopping carts that are difficult to control in the supermarket. This can be attributed to the fact that these carts are often overloaded every time they are put to use by different customers. To prevent hospital carts from making a lot of noise, you should ask staff to avoid overloading them. Make sure that each vehicle carries only the capacity it is meant to handle. Additionally, employees should not lean on carts when operating them because doing so puts extra weight on the wheels, thereby causing them to make noise during movement.

Use Carts Indoors -- For a cart to move quietly, the castor wheel must be kept clean and free of any particulate matter. The carts in the hospital should, therefore, be used inside the hospital and not outside where they can quickly pick up sand and other particles that will only make steering difficult. Most importantly, however, is that unwanted particles between a castor's ball bearings will result in noisy carts. As a facility manager, you have to make sure that indoor carts are kept inside at all times. If the carts must be used outside, then make sure that the wheels are cleaned thoroughly before being deployed indoors.

Keep Floors Clean – A castor wheel will break down if you keep bumping it against hard objects, regardless of how many times you grease the ball bearings or tighten the nuts on the swivel. Therefore, ensure that the hospital floor is free from obstacles that might compromise the integrity of castor tires. For instance, if castor wheels keep hitting scrubbing brushes on a hospital floor, the joints will eventually become loose, thereby producing unwanted noise. Additionally, obstacles can cause castor wheels to come off, thus compromising the safety of cart users.