Recurring Challenges in Linear Accelerators and Their Implications for Maintenance Practices : a Thematic Analysis of Service Records
Ahjoniemi, Niko (2025)
2025
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025100125433
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025100125433
Tiivistelmä
This thesis studied maintenance of linear accelerators (LINACs) by analysing real service records from hospital use. The aim was to answer two research questions:
1. What are the key themes found in maintenance records?
2. How can these themes inform better maintenance practices?
Thematic analysis of the service logs identified seven recurring fault categories: mechanical faults, software and control system faults, beam delivery issues, user errors, environmental and external factors, infrastructure and system enhancements, and electrical and electronic faults. These themes show that downtime is caused not only by technical failures but also by organizational, environmental, and procedural challenges.
The results also show how each theme gives signals for improving maintenance practices. Mechanical and electrical faults highlighted the importance of spare part strategy. Software and control system issues showed the need for fast restart protocols and better communication with manufacturers. User errors and environmental factors underlined the role of operator training and stable operating conditions. Infrastructure-related cases, such as upgrades or customizations, revealed risks when changes are not carefully planned.
From these findings, practical implications were proposed, including better spare part management, targeted training and delegation of simple tasks to operators, creating a searchable fault database, integrating auxiliary systems into maintenance plans, using downtime more effectively, and strengthening predictive monitoring. Maintenance phi-losophies such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), and Predictive Maintenance (PdM) were used to connect the themes to systematic improvement.
In conclusion, this study shows that maintaining LINACs is not only a technical task but a strategic responsibility for patient safety. Moving from reactive repair to proactive, data-driven, and collaborative maintenance practices can reduce downtime, improve reliability, and support continuity of radiotherapy treatments.
1. What are the key themes found in maintenance records?
2. How can these themes inform better maintenance practices?
Thematic analysis of the service logs identified seven recurring fault categories: mechanical faults, software and control system faults, beam delivery issues, user errors, environmental and external factors, infrastructure and system enhancements, and electrical and electronic faults. These themes show that downtime is caused not only by technical failures but also by organizational, environmental, and procedural challenges.
The results also show how each theme gives signals for improving maintenance practices. Mechanical and electrical faults highlighted the importance of spare part strategy. Software and control system issues showed the need for fast restart protocols and better communication with manufacturers. User errors and environmental factors underlined the role of operator training and stable operating conditions. Infrastructure-related cases, such as upgrades or customizations, revealed risks when changes are not carefully planned.
From these findings, practical implications were proposed, including better spare part management, targeted training and delegation of simple tasks to operators, creating a searchable fault database, integrating auxiliary systems into maintenance plans, using downtime more effectively, and strengthening predictive monitoring. Maintenance phi-losophies such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), and Predictive Maintenance (PdM) were used to connect the themes to systematic improvement.
In conclusion, this study shows that maintaining LINACs is not only a technical task but a strategic responsibility for patient safety. Moving from reactive repair to proactive, data-driven, and collaborative maintenance practices can reduce downtime, improve reliability, and support continuity of radiotherapy treatments.