The Royal Melbourne Hospital has deployed the latest stock managment module from Melbourne-based asset management company Hardcat to transform the way it procures, manages and stores spare parts used in the maintenance and repair of critical medical equipment used in clinical operations.
According to Lakshmi Thiru, a Biomedical engineer in RMH’s Clinical Engineering Department (CED), the new stock management module from Hardcat has helped to extend the benefits provided by Hardcat’s existing solution rolled out in 2015.
And, Thiru also says the stock management module has significantly improved the hospital’s processes for storing and managing spare parts, effectively increasing productivity within the department.
“Implementing the stock management module has been the driver of a substantial transformation within our department,” Thiru says.
{loadposition peter}“It has allowed us to better manage the spare parts we keep on hand and to monitor our usage of these parts.
“Through use of the image upload feature, we are now easily able to identify and locate the relevant spare parts we keep on hand when we need them.”
Thiru says another useful function RMH has enabled through the Hardcat stock management module is the ability to set up alerts when minimum stock thresholds are breached.
“When the inventory of spares of a particular part held in stock drops below a certain number, we are automatically notified,” he says.
“We then use this function to generate a weekly stock re-order report to assist in placing orders and maintaining our stock of parts at a serviceable level.
“In addition, we are also now able to better analyse our usage of spare parts by creating customised reports from the data to highlight the most frequently used spare parts and strategically adjust our maximum and minimum levels for the part accordingly.”