The challenge
On hospital wards, the storeroom and the ward supply kits are almost always managed by hand:
- Stock levels are set by experience: some products are overstocked and others run short.
- Nurses spend part of every shift counting, tidying and ordering material.
- Shortages are solved with urgent orders to the central warehouse.
- Kits are checked product by product and expiries surface late.
What we focus on
- Levels calculated from actual consumption
- Replenishment without counts
- Organised ward storerooms and kits
Two-bin and Kanban labels
Each product takes up two bins. Material is used from the first; when it is empty, replenishment is requested and the second is used, so the new stock arrives before the product runs out.
Where two bins do not fit, or for bulkier products, Kanban labels are used: each product carries a label with its reorder level and, when that level is reached, the label triggers the order.
The replenishment signal can be recorded in the application or, where it adds most value, automatically with RFID. In the assessment we choose the format that fits each unit. More detail in RFID and traceability.
Ward supply kits too
The same method applies to ward kits: contents agreed with the unit, adjusted levels and expiries in view, without checking product by product.
It applies on hospital wards and in the central warehouse. For operating theatres and interventional suites, see Smart rooms and storerooms.