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IDEAS That Work
Practical pearls from your colleagues
LESSONS FROM BMW
Pick Surgical Supplies Like
An Automotive Assembly Line
W
hen I first saw the automated carousels
at a BMW assembly line, I knew the
same technology could be useful in my
hospital's central processing department.
Picture a merry-go-round, but instead of carrying people, the 81⁄2-feet-high carousels carry
surgical supplies and devices.
The 3 carousels, which cost $375,000 to purchase and install, not including the software,
let staff pick up to 4 cases at once. On a daily
basis, our central processing staff downloads
the next day's surgical cases to the carousel. A
staff member then selects the cases she wants
to pick and the carousels spin to the right location. Indicator lights tell the operator where to
pick, what to pick, the quantity to pick and on
which case cart items should go. Staff then
pick the supplies as they are rotated to them
and presented to them via the carousel.
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ROOM TO ROAM As you can see in these beforeand-after photos, the automated carousels have
freed up considerable floor space in the central
processing department at Huron Perth Healthcare
Alliance in Stratford, Ontario.
