The Case for Chaos: Sterile Storage, Automation, & the future of SPD Logistics

(Editors note: Please enjoy this guest article, written by industry innovators at Gibotech . You can learn more about the concept of "chaos storage" by connecting directly on Linkedin with Maria Duerlund Bergholm and Thomas Skovgaard.)

You know the traditional sterile storage and how to keep order: Placing the items on the shelves manually and only using specific shelves for specific items.

But if you automate your sterile storage, you can benefit from the complete opposite: having a "chaos sterile storage".

Having an automated sterile storage designed according to the chaos method simply means that there are no predetermined shelves for specific items (containers, baskets or the like). There is no – to the human eye – logic to the placement of the items. But rest assured that it is fully optimized and controlled by the internal WMS software.

With this design, you can use every shelf for every item; leading to an optimized utilization of the storage capacity.

How it works

Before the storage robot places a container or basket on a free shelf, the item itself is registered. This registration tells the system the type of content, making it possible for healthcare personnel to order specific types of surgical instruments when needed.

The (wire) baskets can be placed on a shelf just like they are, but containers are placed on a palette and then placed on a shelf. Because all items should be possible to place on all shelves, the wire baskets and palettes have a common footprint, meaning that the width and length are the same, but the height can vary. Small variants may be made if it makes sense to the overall design and the type of surgical instruments that are handled.

The storage robot then manages the placement – and later, the retrieval – of the item. The Warehouse Management System (WMS) continuously tracks the location of each item, and uses the “first in, first out”-principle to keep a constant rotation of the items. This also gives the user a full overview of expiration periods for all items processed.

Because the storage is designed according to the chaos method, every shelf is put into use. This only works because of the WMS and registration of the items. Therefore, you cannot get the same advantage from the traditional, somewhat manually handled sterile storage.

The chaos-storage put into practice

In Europe, many hospitals are discovering the potential in automation solutions for the healthcare industry, including the automated sterile storage.

One large automated sterile storage designed according to the chaos method is located in Denmark and is currently under construction.

Once finished, the automated sterile storage will consist of racks with a height of 8 meters and a total of 6,125 shelves. To handle all the incoming and outgoing items, six storage robots are three in a row and up to three on top of each other – based on a modular principle to accommodate the given space and building restrictions.

The items are transported into the sterile storage from the autoclaving with a mix of robotics and roller conveyors – both horizontal and vertical conveyors. When they are collected for being packed in a case cart, the roller conveyors transport them to the packing station where two robots are in charge of filling and labelling the case carts.

The automated “chaos sterile storage” has several advantages for the hospital compared to the previous manual processes:

·       The storage itself is in this case built very compact and high but still contains a high number of shelves. If the same number of shelves should be built in a storage fitted to manual processes it would take up a lot more space.

·       Automating the process reduces the risk of the containers being opened by accident, tilted, dropped or getting lost in the SPD or OR.

·       The healthcare personnel is exempted from lifting the containers that can be heavy and not easy to handle. This increases the working environment, reduces the number of sick days and improves the health of the personnel.

All the advantages

If you choose to automate your sterile storage and have it designed according to the chaos method, you have the advantage of better utilization of the storage itself. There is no need for a large number of extra shelves that will be empty most of the time, but just the shelves that are needed.

But regardless of the advantages of an automated “chaos sterile storage”, you get some great advantages by just automating the sterile storage – no matter the design of it:

First and foremost, there is the obvious advantage of having software keeping track of each item, minimizing the risk of human errors.

The automated “chaos sterile storage” also has a great advantage when it comes to the layout. Because no humans are involved in any of the processes in the storage, the layout does not need to leave room for them between the racks. And since the shelves should only be reachable for the robot, it is possible to make use of the height of the room.

This means more shelves in less space.

Last but not least, is the bonus of an automated sterile storage in general – regardless of the design of the placement of items: The sterile environment is kept intact, at all times. The entire process inside the storage is handled by a robot, meaning that there is no human interaction and therefore a reduced – if not eliminated – risk of contamination. This improves the level of hygiene and is something that not only the healthcare personnel but also the patients benefit from.

What to do in case of failure?

What do you do in case of failure, if the technology stops working? There is no need to worry about that. Besides the fact that failures only rarely happen (and in most of these cases, the emergency backup power will take over), it is possible to reach specific shelves manually.

This means that specific shelves – for instance at the bottom of the sterile storage – are designated as critical and dedicated for high runners of items, so they are reachable in case of emergencies. Other than that, they are a part of the continuous automated flow in the storage, and the storage robot will make sure that the equipment does not expire. It is always possible to access the storage list manually, as well.

So you can keep storing sterile items like you have always done.

Or you can stare directly into the chaos and use it to your advantage, through automation and design.

What do you say?

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