Innovative technology conserves resources and generates savings: a case study from the Sunnybrook Regional Processing...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Biomedical Engineering
• Environmental Science

Background:

• The regional processing centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre faced challenges in increasing cleaning capacity within budget constraints.
• Meeting current and future demands for cleaning and decontamination services required innovative solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of upgrading to a highly automated cleaning and decontamination system.
• To determine if the new system could increase capacity without raising operating costs.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a new, highly automated cleaning and decontamination system.
• Analysis of the system's impact on productivity, costs, resource consumption, and worker well-being.

Main Results:

• The automated system successfully increased cleaning capacity and met future demand without budget increases.
• Significant improvements observed in productivity, cleaning quality, worker safety, and morale.
• Reductions in operational costs, water usage, electricity consumption, and chemical use were achieved.
• Overtime hours were decreased.

Conclusions:

• Investment in innovative technology, specifically automated cleaning systems, can effectively address capacity challenges in healthcare settings.
• The upgrade yielded substantial benefits, including cost savings, environmental improvements, and enhanced operational efficiency and worker satisfaction.