Latest lean storeroom group commit to keep going

Staff from Western Sydney Local Health District and the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network recently met to discuss lessons learned from their storeroom clean-ups.

Staff at Westmead Hospital and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead are transforming equipment and consumable storage areas using a philosophy called 6S.

The 6S stands for sort, straighten, shine, standardise, sustain and safety.

These words are memorable prompts for staff as they apply the clean-up training to their work areas.

Western Sydney Local Health District’s director of innovation and redesign Emma Clarke said the participants were thrilled with the results, enjoyed working together and were inspired to keep applying the lessons learned.

“This is our third group through since the program’s start at Westmead in 2017,” she said.

Participants agree they have reduced clutter, making it easier and faster to grab what they need.

Equipment and stock has been organised and sorted and storage and labelling has been reworked.

This round of the lean storeroom program involved 10 storerooms being transformed, with 16 staff participating from perioperative services at both hospitals, as well as from Westmead Hospital’s geriatrics and medical imaging units.

Dozens of items have been safely disposed of or sent for recycling. Many pieces of equipment, including trolleys, have been relocated to other units and a few items were even donated to a local vet surgery.

The work done in the 6S lean program has instigated the ODDS (ordering, delivery, distribution and storage) of Clinical Consumables Redesign Project, which has started at Blacktown Hospital as part of the expansion.

Solutions are currently being designed to target the top issues identified by staff across the district.

The goal is to roll the solutions into Westmead, ahead of the opening of the acute services building, which will be completed in 2020.

The next round of the lean storeroom process will be announced soon.

If you have questions about how to get involved in future phases of the program, contact Western Sydney Local Health District’s project support for innovation and redesign Hayley Manyu on hayley.manyu@health.nsw.gov.au or (02) 8838 2020.

Read more about the recent clean-ups on the Westmead Redevelopment project’s website.