On August 8, visionstate delivered for the first time an Internet of things (IOT) product for hospital tracking facility space services, such as cleaning of public bathrooms and replenishment of daily necessities. Its solution uses traffic sensors, QR codes, near field communication (NFC) and tablets or smartphones running OPRFID RFID solution, which can capture the executed services and the time and images of completing the services.
Now, the company has expanded the scope of its products and services. The hospital has piloted its RFID based asset management function within OPRFID, so that they can track not only the cleaning of non moving parts (such as bathroom parts), but also the cleaning of key equipment (such as wheelchairs) used for patient care.
Visionstate serves hospitals and other spaces that need cleaning. This Alberta based company has added RFID function to its existing OPRFID platform, which is based on the needs of hospital customers facing greater pressure due to the covid-19 pandemic.
By adding passive UHF RFID tags to mobile devices, OPRFID can track the location, movement time, care time for patients and cleaning time of items. In this way, the hospital can better ensure that the equipment is ready when needed.
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"Tracking key assets is an important part of efficient operations," said John putters, CEO of visionstate. "RFID tracking helps to control inventory and accurately measure its use and consumption.". The company has a background in RFID solutions and provides asset management technology for the oil and gas industry through its solution partner safe-t-whip. RFID solutions provide companies that rent equipment in the oil and gas industry with the ability to track and simplify inventory and product movement.
Each product will receive an RFID tag, which can then be tracked by the RFID reader when it enters and leaves the designated area (such as warehouse or supply room). Putters explained that this process improves inventory management and provides more accurate billing data based on the length of time a specific product is leased.
Bring RFID to hospital for asset management
Putters added that RFID can now be used as part of OPRFID RFID solutions(more info) in healthcare. About half of visionstate's customers are healthcare companies, and the other half are cleaning service companies that provide services for them. He recalled that the initial objective was to ensure that services were properly and efficiently provided. Putters pointed out that facility management is labor-based, so how the company uses labor is crucial.
The Internet of things technology can judge the time spent by the cleaning personnel in the designated space (such as the toilet) according to the use of mobile phones or tablet computers when entering the area that needs cleaning. First, they can log in to the OPRFID solution and create the start record of each new task. When they scan the sensors around the room, they can complete the corresponding work according to the instructions. This data can be linked to other sensor based information, such as data culled from the personnel counter, to track the usage of the room since the last cleaning and the number of visits to the soap dispenser. It is reported that visionstate captured these data through its hand hygiene product dispenser through cooperation with Tork.
During the covid-19 epidemic, the company found that there was an increasing demand for hospitals to seek tracking and cleaning protocols to achieve health and safety purposes. So the company developed this mobile application to meet the latest cleaning agreement, which was released in 2021. However, a Canadian hospital that uses this technology for toilet cleaning management (anonymous) also wants to track the cleaning protocols for beds and wheelchairs. "This is where RFID offers benefits," putters said.
"The hospital hopes to be able to track the location of each asset and the cleanliness of the project. We have been studying RFID technology since then, especially in our applications.". "When we embarked on this path, we suddenly found that many of our customers required similar solutions," putters said. Therefore, the company established an RFID based asset management system in its application earlier this year.
Master the cleaned content and location in real time
"We have always been a supporter of clean space," putters said. "But the addition of RFID is a good differentiation factor for us, because it adds an important function to the industry.". He explained, "usually, UHF RFID tags (visionstate uses link Labs' tag products) are attached to the asset, and the unique ID number encoded on the tag is linked to the data in the OPRFID RFID solution. Each time the tag is read, the information is updated to the system to indicate its location.
The system can use handheld RFID readers used by staff when walking or interacting with assets throughout the facility, or fixed readers that can be deployed in key areas (such as at the entrance of a department or room, or at the elevator door) The application can provide a dashboard that displays any item that needs to be maintained and its location. It can also issue an alarm if the item is misplaced or has exceeded its expected service date.
Master the position and status of medical beds and wheelchairs
This Canadian hospital initially piloted OPRFID's RFID version on a wing of its building to track medical beds and wheelchairs. The medical institution has been using OPRFID system for cleaning service management. At present, all these data have been transferred to OPRFID's single portal, where the efficiency of cleaning services in static areas such as bathrooms can be managed and assets can be tracked.
After a six-month pilot, the company intends to conduct a comprehensive commercial promotion of its asset management system with RFID tags. Visionstate positions itself as a cleaning and hygiene visualization company for healthcare customers rather than an RFID technology company. Putters said, "the RFID based function is not only an independent RFID technology product, but also needs to be integrated into the rest of our solutions. In these solutions, data can be compiled to obtain an overall view and analyze health and public safety".
Putters pointed out that the focus of the hospital is to create a safe environment for patients and personnel. He believes that the trend created by covid-19 makes it more challenging for these facilities to meet their expectations without technology. Due to the shortage of personnel, workers are often inexperienced. They stay at work for a shorter time, so they need more on-site guidance and management support provided by OPRFID.
Looking ahead, visionstate plans to continue to provide RFID technology to other industries, including oil and gas. The company also said that it can upgrade its cloud based databases and applications according to customer requirements.
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