Healthcare facilities' materials management, which can take up the time of staff in all departments, can be improved by efficiently designed spaces, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.
Nurses, for instance, can spend 20 percent or more of their total time performing fundamental materials management tasks, the article said.
Material should be available where and when they are needed. If efficient storage spaces are included in a building or renovation project in the beginning, initial and ongoing operating expenses can be reduced.
Tomorrow’s facilities are too often designed using yesterday’s thinking, the article said, and a building may be functionally inefficient before it opens.