Skejby is one of Denmark's most specialized hospitals with modern buildings, sophisticated equipment and highly qualified staff. Skejby is a part of Aarhus University Hospital, and consequently, much research, training and collaboration is done with private enterprises. This helps to ensure that the quality of medical examinations, treatment and care are excellent, both in the short and long term.
During the autumn of 2008, a new mobile computing solution from Delfi was installed to keep track of more than 100 packages that can contain everything from artificial heart valves to ink cartridges for printers, which Skejby Hospital receives daily from the post office and various other courier companies. Skejby Hospital needed mobile computers for its tailored solution for the postal department. They chose the Memor for scanning packages, and a specially developed software package for registration. Memor is small, compact, and extremely effective handheld mobile computer.
Before this solution was taken into service, the management and distribution of packages in the large hospital was done with the help of a log book in which all packages were logged manually, both when they came in, and when they were redistributed to the different departments where an employee would have to sign for them.
Now, with Delfi's solution, Skejby hospital uses the Memor for reading the barcodes on all the packages they receive, and then to read the barcode on both the packages and the shelf when they are delivered to the various departments. When required, the recipient signs for the delivery on the Memor touch screen.
When all deliveries have been made, the mobile computer is placed in a base station, and all the collected data is transferred to a database which can be checked at any time for various information, such as when and where the package has been delivered and received.
"The mobile computing solution with the Memor provided by Delfi not only saves time, but has also given us full traceability so that we always know exactly which package has been delivered and when. Therefore, there are practically no conflicts between the different departments as to whether a package has been delivered or not, " says Pia Kaufholz from the Postal Department at Skejby Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark.
Less time needed with 100% traceability
This is an easy, simple and cost effective IT solution that provides very clear and tangible benefits during day-to-day work. Pia Kaufholz explains, "There is a significant difference between the past, when everything was recorded manually, and now, when everything is registered with the Memor mobile computer. We have noticed a significant time reduction. In fact, time has been cut in about half, which translates into approximately a few hours of work each day. In addition, we now have full traceability, which means that all the information regarding when packages are received and where they are distributed is fully documented. So there is no longer any doubt as to whether we have received a package or not. In extremely rare cases where a package has been delivered incorrectly, we can now see it in the system, since we have registered the barcode on the shelf where the package has been delivered. Therefore, all the confusion that occurred when a package had been delivered to the wrong department no longer exists. This makes everybody on both sides happy."
Pia Kaufholz and her colleagues' evaluation of the Delfi solution with the Memor is very clear: "It is not only smart and fast, it is also incredibly easy to use. We are all very excited about it, and cannot understand how we managed before using this solution."
A great investment
"The fact that the solution with the Memor is so quick and easy to implement, adds to the satisfaction with Delfi's solution. It is a very good investment," says Finn Henning Bach Srensen, a colleague of Ms. Kaufholz at the postal department, which was the main advocate for the purchase of the new IT solution.
Mr. Srensen states, "I knew that our central warehouse had been using a mobile computing solution from Delfi for several years, which they were very happy with. So when we finally got the green light for this investment, we contacted Delfi and explained our "problems". We had a good meeting with them and promptly received a reasonable offer."
After having signed the contract, it took less than a month from the first meeting for the system to become operational. The solution set-up went quite smoothly, recalls Finn Henning Bach Srensen. "All employees of the postal department learned how to use the Memor handheld mobile computer after a very brief training period, and 1 ? years have passed without any problems. The users are satisfied, having good support from Delfi and not having experienced a single technical problem in either the mobile computer or software."
"The convenience of the solution further enhances our satisfaction," stresses Finn Henning Bach Srensen. "The complete solution with mobile computers and specially developed software has been a great investment, which we will recommend to others."
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