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case studyASAP Systems Helps Belmont University School of Nursing Accurately Track Medical Supplies Within Their Simulation Labs Using Passport

BELMONT UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF NURSINGBelmont University’s School of Nursing is a highly regarded program that prepares students to launch into a nursing career offering specialties in critical care, maternal-infant health, emergency care, pediatrics, geriatrics and more. The school provides cutting-edge simulation laboratories designed to reproduce realistic practice settings for students to gain hands-on clinical experiences and enhance their skills. These labs require readily available stock inventory and assets for faculty to use for lessons and students to use during exercises. With the growing number of students using the school’s six clinical simulation labs (CSL’s) and the overall increase in supplies, Belmont University needed a

centralized and automated system to keep track of all inventory activity and information.

THE CHALLENGE“We were losing track of how much of our inventory we were using at any given time. We were also losing track of where things were and who was using what,” says Kathy Pope, registered nurse at Belmont University.

It was challenging for the school to figure out the amount of items being used in the CSL’s by each course and when it would be optimal to reorder certain items. Each course has a list of lesson-specific medical supplies to be used throughout the semester. Without an automated system, it was up to the professors and nurses to

COMPANY:Belmont University, School of Nursingwww.belmont.edu/nursing

INdUSTRY:Education

BUSINESS CHALLENGE:To track the location and use of hundreds of medical supplies (some with expiration dates) at multiple storage and clinical simulation lab locations throughout the university.

SOLUTION:

Passport Stock Inventory

Mobile Barcode Scanner

BENEFITS:

• Locate specific inventory faster within the campus• Automatic and accurate inventory counts• Helps eliminate inventory shortages so students have readily-available supplies for lessons• Easily track all medical and simulation equipment maintenance

Case Study Overview

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ASAP Systems | Inventory Management and Asset Tracking

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perform time-consuming counts and guess the remaining quantity of every item. In addition, the professors had no way of knowing which closet or storage space to find the items in, or if a surplus of an item actually existed. The inventory information they had at their disposal was static and never reflected up-to-date counts, hence the school squandered time searching for items or waiting for shipments to arrive instead of using the time for educational purposes.

due to the limited shelf life of some of their inventory, the school had trouble monitoring the consumables they had on hand. Kathy and her colleagues wanted to accurately track their stock inventory of medical consumables such as IV tubing, IV start kits, suction kits, medications and more. Therefore, finding a system that could track by quantity, as well as batch or lot number and expiration date, would give them the visibility needed to avoid wasting valuable medications and losing supplies that could have been used by students.

FITTING THEIR NEEdS

For nursing school students, utilizing medical simulation technology is the cornerstone of their learning experience. Because the labs are designed to reproduce realistic practice settings, their CSL’s are equipped with human patient simulators, monitors, bedside computer charts, static manikins and more. In order to use the facilities and technology to their full potential, the school needed to make sure these assets were well maintained and serviced. Each asset has its own schedule for performing maintenances or upgrades that the school would need to be able to monitor. Hence, the school wanted a way to organize this critical information and receive alerts when asset activity dates were approaching. Without observance to these maintenance and upgrade schedules, their simulation lab equipment could fail to work properly and leave students without the technology they depend on for practicing clinical nursing procedures.

GETTING STARTEd

The school realized its limitations with regard to control of their inventory and sought to find a system that could accommodate their needs. Belmont nurses and decision makers in the operations department relied on online search to gather information on inventory management systems, barcode technology, and systems catered to nursing schools. In addition to research, a referral to ASAP Systems from the simulation lab

coordinator at another university nursing program influenced Belmont University’s decision the most.

ASAP Systems’ inventory and asset tracking solution, Passport, was recommended because of its ease-of-use and years of proven results of increasing inventory management efficiency in simulation labs. The union of ASAP Systems with Belmont University began with Belmont’s participation in a quick software demonstration with an ASAP Systems engineer. This platform allowed the school to explain their current operations and express what they wanted to get out of their personalized system. The engineer shared his screen so they could experience the system first hand and ask any questions along the way.

After the demo, ASAP Systems recommended a solution that included:

• Passport Stock Inventory

• Passport Mobile

• 1 mobile barcode scanner

• Bronze Support Package

THE SOLUTION

After implementing Passport to fit current operations and attending remote training, the nursing program was equipped to track inventory used by each course and stock inventory levels throughout all simulation labs and storage locations. The new system created a secure, centralized database that automatically recorded all inventory transactions from when items were received until they are issued out.

Passport Mobile

Passport removed the hassle of manually conducting physical inventory through the addition of a mobile barcode scanner. It allows the user to enter data at least ten times faster and do so with increased accuracy. Users can move the scanner to their storage locations so that they can conveniently find supplies they are searching for and return to work.

Location Min/Max Inventory Alerts

With the location min/max feature, the school staff can input items with the same manufacturer number at multiple storage locations and set total and individual

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location quantity triggers. Once the supply amount hits a trigger, the system enables the staff to replenish it by making a stock transfer or placing a purchase order.

Then a configurable alert can be sent via sms text and email to notify all designated personnel. This functionality gives the nursing school complete control over their stock inventory levels throughout the campus.

Excellent Customer Service

“We spoke with several companies offering inventory management software. What separated ASAP Systems was the helpfulness of their staff and overall customer service,” says Pope.

The combined abilities of the ASAP Systems staff are the most valuable resource for Belmont University. From the initial introduction with the sales team, to the training and support provided by the engineers, Belmont could rely on personalized attention from industry experts to have any questions answered in an effort to build a complete inventory management solution.

LOOKING TO THE FUTUREPassport’s modular framework will give Belmont exactly what they need in moving forward with an inventory management system. Each portion of the system, known as a module, can be used alone or combined with other chosen features within the system so that each customer can essentially build their unique system.

Belmont can look to take advantage of Passport’s advanced inventory feature for tracking consumable inventory by batch and lot numbers, as well as expiration dates. This feature enables the program to maximize the use of the medical supplies they continuously order for exercises in the CSL’s and save money that would be spent replenishing expired supplies

The system can also be used to track the costs associated with each classroom’s use of supplies and accumulate a program-wide inventory expense total at the end of school terms. Using this function of Passport generates increased accountability so that the school can receive a rapid return on their investment from savings produced by the system.

For more information on ASAP Systems’ inventory and asset tracking solutions

for the manufacturing industry, go to our web site or contact

sales@asapsystems.com

In addressing the need for asset maintenance tracking, Passport can provide Belmont with the ability to track all cleaning, upgrades, and calibrations that need to be scheduled for medical and simulation equipment. Monitoring these activities automatically with calendar alerts, instead of by pen and paper, ensures that appointments are kept and will increase the useful life of an asset.

Belmont University, School of Nursing appreciates the modular and menu-driven Passport software because it allows them to configure their system by using the features and functionality they can utilize in accordance with prevailing budgetary constraints and operational structure. The program now has an inventory management system in place that has tackled their original tracking problems and that can assist with any unforeseen needs that arise from institutional growth.