No Cookie Cutter Approach part 2
Dustin Patterson | Regional Sales Manager, LogiQuip LLC.
For Part 2 of our “No Cookie Cutter Approach” Series, let’s talk about how to better organize the storage room for more efficient space usage and faster picking. Track systems can increase the storage capacity of a supply room by up to 50% without increasing the footprint. While you gain storage efficiency you may lose some operational efficiency due to having to push shelves out of the way to get what you need, making it difficult for more than one person to be picking case carts at a time. Because of this, Track Shelving is ideal for instrument sets where you may need a few sets per case. To take it a step further, if you organize instrument sets by specialty, you can grab what you need off of one or two shelving units. For disposable supplies, more traditional shelving lined up along the wall (like a grocery store) gives full visibility and access to fast-moving disposable supplies. This also allows for multiple people to pull supplies at once which is difficult to do with track systems. Here you gain operational efficiency but lose some space efficiency. There are storage systems that can help you gain some of that efficiency back, but we will cover more of that in Part 3 of this series. Having a clear understanding of your available space, what supplies, what quantity of supplies, and internal processes and workflows will help to determine which option (or combination of options) will work best for you! Dustin Patterson is currently the Mid-West Regional Sales Manager with Logiquip Healthcare Storage Solutions, a leading provider of high quality, future focused storage systems designed exclusively for use in the healthcare environment. Logiquip is based out of Kalamazoo, MI and has served healthcare organizations across the US for 30 years. Dustin brings over 12 years of experience in space planning and healthcare storage. He has acted on behalf of LogiQuip as the vendor liaison to the AHRMM Wisconsin Chapter, a leading membership group for healthcare supply chain professionals. Working closely with many hospitals and surgery centers, Dustin has developed tailored solutions using a mix of best practices, Lean principles, and industry-leading storage equipment. He has also worked with many Sterile Processing Departments to maximize storage spaces, balancing trade-offs between high-capacity storage layouts and workflow efficiencies.
