Required time for setting up an anaesthesia machine mounted on a movable ceiling pendant.

The present study was performed to evaluate the duration of time required to set up an anaesthesia machine mounted on an automated or manually movable ceiling pendant. Nurses moved the machine's position according to the surgical site (right or left). The duration of time required to set up the anaesthesia machine for surgery was compared between automated and manual operation and among nurses with varying years of work experience. Movement of the anaesthesia machine from the right to left position took longer for the automated (278 ± 11s) than manual (188 ± 63s) method. However, no difference was observed between automated (288 ± 11s) and manual (267 ± 140s) movement of the machine from the left to right position. Experienced nurses took less time in both directions. Manual movement took less time than automated movement in the right-to-left direction, which may be advantageous when nurses are in a hurry or have musculoskeletal system disorders and may allow them to perform other operating room preparation tasks. Either automated or manual movement may be used depending on the situation. Both the larger deviations with manual movement and the shorter time required by experienced nurses suggest that training and experience shorten the manual set-up time.