Sengkang General Hospital Singapore Central Sterile Supply Unit

Project Overview

Sengkang General Hospital in Singapore embarked on a modernization project to transform the logistics within its Central Sterile Supply Unit (CSSU). The CSSU is the nerve center responsible for the decontamination, sterilization, and distribution of all surgical instruments. Faced with rising surgical demand and the physical strain of manual labor involved in locating and retrieving instrument sets, the hospital recognized an imperative for innovation.

The primary goal was to implement an automated storage system that would orchestrate the flow of surgical instruments, optimize daily operations, and ensure exceptional patient care by guaranteeing the right instruments are available at the right moment. The project aimed to set new standards in healthcare logistics by balancing cutting-edge automation with crucial human oversight.

Technical Solution

Mini Load Automated Storage/Retrieval System (AS/RS)

The centerpiece is a mini load AS/RS designed to store sterilized surgical instrument boxes. The system has a capacity for 2,790 standardized surgical boxes. It automatically assigns storage locations upon induction and retrieves them based on requests, operating on a First-In, First-Out (FIFO) principle to ensure proper instrument rotation.

Key Features

The mini load AS/RS provides high-density, automated storage for 2,790 standardized surgical boxes, eliminating time-consuming manual searches and ensuring accurate, FIFO-based inventory management.

The system uses a combination of technologies: the AS/RS for standard boxes, Vertical Carousels for odd-sized items, an STV for transport, and a robot for final order staging, creating a comprehensive automated workflow.

The entire process is tracked and controlled by the integration of barcode scanning, a WMS for business logic, and the WareNavi WCS for real-time equipment control, ensuring traceability and synchronization.

Results & Benefits

The implementation has significantly reduced the time staff previously spent manually searching for specific surgical boxes, accelerating the preparation process for operations.

The automated system strictly manages the output of surgical boxes according to the FIFO principle, a critical practice in sterile supply to ensure instrument sterility and proper usage cycles.

The solution has optimized the entire flow of instruments within the CSSU, from the arrival of sterilized boxes through storage, request-based retrieval, and final dispatch to operating theatres, enhancing overall departmental efficiency.

Challenges & Solutions

The CSSU was challenged by increasing surgical demand coupled with the strenuous physical labor of manual storage and retrieval. The hospital addressed this by implementing the advanced AS/RS and robotic automation, which removed the burden of manual searching and heavy lifting from staff.

A key logistical challenge was efficiently managing a diverse set of surgical instruments, including many odd-sized pieces. The solution was a tailored, dual-system approach: the high-throughput mini load AS/RS for standard boxes and flexible Vertical Carousels to handle the irregular items, ensuring comprehensive coverage.

System Integrator

Daifuku provided the material handling solutions and system integration for this project. The implementation includes Daifuku's mini load AS/RS, Vertical Carousels, the WareNavi Warehouse Control System, and the integration of these components with the hospital's barcode tracking and Warehouse Management System.