UniPrint and RF IDeas Give Time Back to the Daily Life of Healthcare Personnel

In the fast-paced medical environment, any delay counts as a big one. Across the St. Joseph Health (SJH) healthcare delivery system in Northern and Southern California, and West Texas/Eastern New Mexico, emergency doctors and nurses, clinical workers and administrative staff require fast and error-free printing of all kinds of documents – prescriptions, patient histories, medical records, X-rays, discharge papers and more, in a highly mobile environment.

To optimize workflow and productivity for improved patient care, SJH deploys advanced technology to streamline access and printing capabilities.  They adopted the Citrix XenDesktop platform along with Meditech HIS and Imprivata OneSign for single sign-on capabilities.  In addition, they chose the UniPrint Infinity software to provide secure, location-based printing and reduce help desk calls.

With this infrastructure, SJH medical personnel can simply tap their badges on an RFID card reader at any computer workstation to open their applications, and bring their session with them to any location as they roam around the healthcare facilities.  UniPrint Infinity allows users to print from any location/machine and ensures that the document will follow the user and always be printed to the nearest printer.

Improved workflow enables SJH’s staff to get through their days more easily and be more productive. Users can effortlessly access the data and print to the printer they prefer.   With reduced help desk calls, IT staff is freed up to focus on other mission-critical tasks.

UniPrint is offering a Free Trial.  For more information or to schedule a demo, go to www.UniPrint.net.

 

 

 

 

 

Learn how RF IDeas maintains 98% same day ship

by Michael J. Colwell CPIM, CSCP

RF IDeas Supply Chain Manager

 

One of the things we are most proud of at RF IDeas is our ability to consistently maintain 98% same day ship performance on our top 250 products.

 

When we first began working toward that goal, the challenge was identifying where we could best drive efficiencies and speed into the process.  The decision was to eliminate the need for our purchasing team to be the sole contact point to the supplier for replenishment of stock. That way, we could re-focus them on more value-added activities, such as supplier improvement projects and cost reductions. We also wanted to speed up the communication process to the supplier when stock was at a lower than required point.

 

After much research and discussion, we chose to implement a process called Kanban. Kanban is the Japanese word for signboard and in a manufacturing environment, it is used to signal the need for more material. There are many ways to do this – placing a card in the tray, turning on a light at the stocking location, or simply noticing an empty tray and getting it filled.

 

We decided to use our own RF IDeas proximity cards to send the supplier an automated email alerting the need for more material.  Because it is an instant and pre-programmed signal, it is both error-proof and user-friendly. 

 

Set up

First we needed to create a template. Using our RDR-7080AKU pcProx Writer HID reader and a BDG-2003 HID iCLASS Card connected to a PC, we created a template using the RF IDeas Card Manager software. On the AIRID Writer for Log On tab, we entered the following information:

·        Pre-keystrokes  (Left Blank)

·        Credential 1 (email address to send request to)

·        Post Keystrokes (%2B00%2B00%2B00)

·        Second Line Pre-keystrokes  (KANBAN Request RF IDeas%2B00)

·        Credential 2 (Title of the email, we chose “Kanban Request RF IDeas”)

·        Post keystrokes (Enter “SKU” and “qty requested” to be sent)

·        Card Gone Keystrokes (%1604)

 

After we created the template, we made an identification card to place next to each associated SKU, changing information in the template as required.

 

Process

Once the replenishment threshold is hit for the particular item, our warehouse staff opens a new email and waves the Kanban card over the reader.  This automatically enters the data with email address, subject line of the Kanban request, and the SKU and quantity requested.  When the card is removed from the reader, it automatically sends the email without further intervention. The employee then returns the card to the storage rack of the SKU and turns it 180 degrees in the holder to signify that the request had been sent.

Benefits

We have already seen considerable improvements over the original process, including:

·        Elimination of typing errors that can cause confusion, wrong material, or incorrect quantities. 

·        Nearly 50% cost reduction from shifting the responsibility of informing the supplier of stock replenishment requirements from buyer to warehouse, freeing up buyers to focus on more strategic tasks. 

·        Reducing time it takes to communicate information to suppliers from minutes to a few seconds.

·        Speeding product consumption to replenishment time by several days.

·        Increasing the speed of communication between RF IDeas and our suppliers, reducing potential for stock out situations. 

 

 

Your Value Chain Can Make You or Break You

RF IDeas same-day delivery keeps you on track and saves you money.

We live in an age where business moves at the speed of light. Problems arise daily, decisions need to be made quickly, and challenges must be met head-on. In this environment, getting the job done necessitates that things fall into place, everything fits, and the process works.

But what happens when it doesn't? What happens, for example, when you've ordered a piece of equipment that's vital to your ability to provide the flawless service your customers have come to expect - but the product arrives late? For one thing, your customer might cancel the order and reorder from your competitor. Or they might demand a reduction in the purchase price. They might even refuse delivery and that's the last you'll ever hear from them. Each of these scenarios can have an obvious, immediate, and adverse impact on your business.

Problems caused by factors upstream will always cause problems for your customer downstream, regardless of your industry.

RF IDeas understands that you have choices and we will never compromise your faith in us. To that end, every member of our team works hard so that you will never be put into that situation. We understand the critical nature of expediency when getting the products you order from us to you on time, every time.

The key is being tightly tuned to your customers and what they need to run their own businesses. RF IDeas holds more inventory so our customers can hold less, saving them money and still getting their products shipped same day of order. Not many of our competitors can make that claim and it is one of which we are proud.

"We are pleased to offer one-day shipping on our top selling 250 SKUs, which is 98% of our total volume," says Jim Dahlin, RF IDeas Operations Manager. "We call it the Agility Metric and it's a big investment for our business but we have the right culture in this company. Everyone knows our objective and they are dedicated to the effort to help us meet it.” (Orders must be placed by 2:30 p.m. CST to qualify.)

Quality is not just a goal at RF IDeas, it's a way of life and we will continue to set reach-out standards of performance throughout the organization. We are doing our part to make sure- at least from our position in your value chain - that things fall into place, everything fits and the process works.