Off-site operations for case build and distribution

Tour the Vanderbilt Medical Center – Case Cart Operations Center and learn how the company improved its operations.

Overview

The journey began in 2008 as the hospital was looking to the future for expansion of the operating room capacity with the addition of 12 new operating room suites. Expansion on-site was cost-prohibitive and left no option for future growth. Vanderbilt Health chose the Toyota Lean Production Principles for maximum efficiency. This would join the two separate processes under one roof and allow for fluidity of surgical case volume, with all carts completed by the designated time for the start of the day’s surgical case volume. Challenges were changing staff schedules to meet production demand and creating new positions while staying net neutral for FTEs. The company incorporated new technology to decrease manual intervention and optimized current technology to meet regulatory requirements. The pursuit of operational excellence is a continuous journey. Embracing Lean principles has proven to be a transformative approach to streamlining processes, enhancing productivity and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Benefits include:

• Doubling the case cart hourly pick rate.
• Doubling the serialization capacity.
• Streamlining supporting processes such as scheduling and DPC accuracy.
• Increasing case cart accuracy by 3% within one month of opening.
• Decreasing on-site supply and instrumentation inventory.

Please note: Personal identification is required to attend this tour.

Company

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the largest comprehensive research, teaching and patient care health system in the Mid-Southern region.

Represented as Vanderbilt Health, its growing health system includes the leading adult and children's hospitals in the Southeast. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, the health system sees over 3 million patient visits annually.

The company is honored to be a resource for patients and clinicians throughout Tennessee and beyond to provide advanced care for complex and rare conditions. Vanderbilt Health's mission is to personalize the patient experience through its caring spirit and distinctive capabilities.

The largest non-government employer in Middle Tennessee, this growing health system has 1,709 licensed hospital beds across seven hospitals, a workforce of 40,000, and an expanding footprint in towns and communities across the region, with more than 200 clinics and three community-based hospitals. Its robust research enterprise ranks among the top 10 centers in the country as measured by highly competitive, peer-reviewed grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. https://www.vumc.org/main/home