Suture Storage Struggles
Dustin Patterson | Regional Sales Manager, LogiQuip LLC.
Anybody who works in Sterile Processing can tell you that suture storage is tricky. There is often no standardization, no set PAR Levels, packaging sizes are constantly changing, and no process to manage suture inventory. Any combination of these issues ultimately causes your suture storage area to become inefficient and disorganized.
There are tactics that can be leveraged to better manage suture storage that support FIFO (first in, first out) and reduce waste.
- Set your suture bins to 4’’ x 4’’ wide: Suture boxes typically come in a 4” x 2” rectangle or 4” x 4” square. If you set your lanes to the larger size, you can more easily accommodate the size changes when they happen.
- Leverage a two-bin system: With suture boxes frequently changing size you can standardize the location size by eliminating the boxes altogether. Create a two-bin system using traditional plastic bins or fine mesh basket shelving and dividers. Remove the sutures from the boxes, place them in the bins, and label the bin location with a color code (that matches the box) and suture name. We have even adhered the front of the suture box to the bin location, making the sutures you need easier to find.
- Set PAR (Periodic Automatic Replenishment) Levels: To do this, you will need to track inventory usage over a period of time to set the minimum and the maximum number of units needed for every suture used. Without set PAR Levels, you may have too few of a high moving suture or too many of a slow-moving suture, potentially causing you to lose sight of expiration dates.
By leveraging one or all the above tactics, your suture storage area will become more efficient and organized.
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.
