The client

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is the second-largest municipal health institution in the United States, providing nearly 750,000 patient visits each year. One of its flagship facilities, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, is a Level 1 trauma center with 553 inpatient beds and more than one million square feet of building space. Managing the clinical engineering (Biomed) and facility equipment across such a vast enterprise requires a modern and standardized approach.

To achieve this, DHS partnered with EQ2 HEMS by TMA Systems (HEMS CMMS), evolving from a single-hospital project to a full enterprise-wide CMMS framework that supports six hospitals, hundreds of health centers, and multiple service departments including Biomed, Facilities, IT, and Supply Chain.

The challenge

Like many large health enterprises, DHS faced the challenge of outdated and fragmented asset management processes. According to the 2021 HIMSS Healthcare Cybersecurity Survey, 73% of healthcare organizations still rely on legacy information systems and outdated platforms that create obstacles to data exchanges and real‑time equipment tracking.

“Our IT department was threatening to shut [the legacy system] down about every three months. We were at risk of losing all of our equipment inventories and service histories, which was all stored on one hard drive.” – David Chambers, Director of Facilities Management, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Across the organization, hospitals operated on a patchwork of systems; some using basic off-the-shelf systems, others relying on heavily customized in-house solutions. This fragmentation left leadership without a unified view of equipment inventories, service histories, or lifecycle costs. The absence of standardization not only limited data visibility but also made regulatory compliance and preventive maintenance (PM) documentation inconsistent and labor-intensive. The result was a complex environment marked by operational inefficiencies, elevated IT risk, and impaired decision-making at both the hospital and enterprise level.

The solution

After extensive research and evaluation of multiple CMMS vendors, DHS selected HEMS CMMS as the foundation for its new enterprise-wide asset management framework. The decision was driven by two critical needs: ensuring compliance across a highly regulated healthcare enterprise and establishing a unified framework capable of supporting both Biomed and facilities management functions.

HEMS CMMS was chosen as a healthcare-specific CMMS, purpose-built for hospitals and healthcare facilities with an emphasis on safety. Unlike the county’s fragmented legacy systems, HEMS CMMS offered an enterprise-grade solution aligned with regulatory expectations such as Alternative Equipment Management (AEM) programs, preventive maintenance (PM) scheduling, and The Joint Commission survey readiness.

By implementing HEMS CMMS, DHS moved beyond replacing a legacy system to establish a modern, enterprise-wide CMMS framework; one that reduced compliance risk, streamlined operations, and created a foundation for data-driven decision-making across one of the nation’s largest municipal health organizations.

The journey

What began as a project focused on Biomed quickly evolved into an enterprise-wide CMMS framework. For Biomed teams, the immediate value was clear: standardized preventive maintenance schedules (time-based or custom, with audit justification), role-based work assignments, and complete digital audit trails.

DHS leadership recognized the opportunity to unify equipment and facilities data across all hospitals; driving stronger purchasing practices, improved cost management, and a more consistent approach to equipment management.

Achieving this vision required close collaboration across departments. Facilities, Biomed, IT, and later Supply Chain worked together through specialized teams created to address each group’s needs, while a central governance structure kept efforts aligned across the enterprise.

With collaboration established, one of the most transformative initiatives became standardization. Terminology, work order types, response times, and equipment nomenclature were unified through the Best Practice Committee, giving every department a voice while ensuring enterprise-wide consistency. As David Chambers explained:

“Standardization is more than a word—it’s actually a goal. The level of detail needed to set up a database that’s both structured and simple is complex. Having the opportunity to design our data structure was not the norm for many of us, but it became a fun process to include all the ‘wish list’ items we always wanted before.”

The next phase centered on modernizing workflows to streamline daily operations across the organization. Staff gained the ability to submit work requests online at any time, while role-based work order management, electronic signatures, timestamps, and sub-codes strengthened traceability. With the HEMS Mobile App, Biomed teams could scan barcodes, log labor hours, access equipment information, and complete inspections directly in the field. Enhanced reporting dashboards further provided leadership with greater visibility into patterns of equipment failures, downtime, and compliance; turning raw data into actionable intelligence.

The results and benefits

Beyond replacing legacy systems, HEMS CMMS delivered far more value to DHS than originally anticipated. The implementation delivered operational efficiency, stronger compliance, significant cost savings, and an enterprise-wide CMMS framework that continues to scale.

“The concept of an enterprise solution should achieve all of the following: reduced costs, improved quality of care, and best practices. We learned from past practices that we’ll never be as good independently as we will be together.” – David Chambers

The lessons learned

1. Start small, plan big. What began as a Biomed initiative quickly expanded to an enterprise-wide CMMS framework. Scope expansion is inevitable; so plan for scalability from the beginning.

2. Standardization is non-negotiable. Establishing a governance model through the Best Practice Committee was essential to align diverse hospitals and departments under a single set of standards.

3. Collaboration ensures adoption. By involving IT, Supply Chain, Facilities, and Biomed from the outset, DHS ensured the system addressed the needs of every stakeholder group.

4. Data powers outcomes. Accurate, standardized data became the foundation for compliance, reporting, cost control, and long-term equipment lifecycle strategies.

5. Sandbox environments aid training. Staff could test workflows and practice in a safe environment before system rollout, improving adoption and reducing errors.

DHS successfully transformed its fragmented legacy systems into a modern, enterprise-wide CMMS framework powered by HEMS CMMS. The results went beyond reducing risk and cost, they included measurable gains in operational efficiency, stronger compliance, and ultimately, improved quality of care across one of the nation’s largest public health enterprises.

As David Chambers reflected: “Together, we’re a stronger organization. With this system, DHS leadership can now effectively look at equipment lifecycle management, purchasing practices, and cost of ownership across the enterprise.”

By embracing healthcare-specific CMMS capabilities such as preventive maintenance scheduling, audit readiness, mobile access, and capital planning dashboards, DHS created a scalable foundation for the future, where every piece of equipment—from patient monitors to servers—is tracked, managed, and optimized from purchase through retirement.