1. Institute of Neurological Sciences Southern General Hospital
Theatre Improvement project
Theatre Equipment Ordering & Storage Improvement
Contact: Pamela Philp
Case Study2

2. Theatre Equipment Ordering & Storage Improvement
Problem Statement
Actions Taken
Sustainability Plan
Reorganisation of storage areas
Removal of unrequired & condemned equipment
Stock labelled and storage plans produced to assist in quick retrieval.
Procurement providing reports to identify excess stock.
Poor organisation of storage areas and excess stock leading to Clinical time wasted
Weekly checks of storage areas for compliance to new layouts and labelling – now scheduled plan.
Stock level adjustments over next 6 months – now scheduled plan, most recent February 2015.
Staff awareness meetings – scheduled monthly (eg attached of Agenda).
White boards available for on-going staff input – used widely by staff
Prompt 8:45 Start.
Before Improvement
After Improvement
Inadequately defined storage space leading to wasted staff time and dissatisfaction.
High concern in staff questionnaires
Excess stock leading to Financial waste, £30K.
Low 5S scores throughout areas
See Photos before kaizen
Better organised storage areas, no clutter, See After Photos - further development of new storage area for instrumentation completed March 2015.
Reduction in stock from NDC held within the INS/OMFS Theatres by 40 – now scheduled in annual plan, most recent February 2015.
Increase in staff satisfaction – remains to be audited formally. Staff comments collated at staff meetings.
Procurement customer services system, Zendesk, implemented and widely used with good results decreasing time spent dealing with orders by at least 50% - PECOS ordering system implemented.

3. <Before After > Theatre Equipment Ordering & Storage Improvement
Storage disorganised with unnecessary items mixed with the vital items
Unclear labelling and layout, floor being used impeding access.
Searching for items time consuming
Lack of space because its not used correctly
After >
Only necessary items stored & clearly labelled
Items easily accessible with minimum movement
More space & time to do the job
Clean and tidy area
Item maps visible 3