FSI Introduces 100% Inventory Visibility with RTLS

Knowing where your assets are located inside your healthcare building has a positive impact on both Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) and Facilities teams. One of the main benefits is spending less time tracking assets down, whether it’s to perform maintenance checks or complete a PM. This type of visibility leads to a more efficient schedule. However, keeping track of assets—particularly those that move with patients—is not an easy feat.

Real-time location updating for your inventory is a great tool that can cut down on headaches associated with asset and inventory management. FSI created an add-on to CMS View called RTLS, which is designed to help you manage your inventory.

While CMS View already gives you a unified overview of all your floorplans, assets, and work orders, RTLS will make it that much more useful by showing asset locations in real-time.

What is RTLS?

RTLS stands for Real-Time Location System, which actively tracks your assets. Essentially, your inventory will get a tag on it, which then transmits to an antenna system built to identify the exact location in your building. 

You can then pull up your floorplans and see where the asset’s icon, down to the exact spot it currently exists. As the assets move, the transmission continues, updating the location in real-time so that techs can maintain 100% visibility on assets and inventory. 

Who is RTLS for?

Clinical Engineering

Part of Biomed or HTM professional’s duties includes tracking mobile equipment, which is much easier to do when there is 100% asset visibility, despite movement. One example of how Healthcare Technology Management teams would use RTLS has to do with infusion pumps. Due to their use, they move around often and can be difficult to track down. The same goes for equipment such as compression units, ventilators, and appliances that might move with a patient. 

With RTLS, the technician could consult their map in CMS View and see exactly where the pump is at, even as it shifts locations. Mobile equipment is no longer a nuisance.

Facilities

While facilities departments tend to work less with equipment that moves directly with patients, RTLS can still benefit this team. For example, sometimes, facilities teams take care of the patient’s bed, which can move around depending on when the patient is discharged. 

Instead of wasting time searching for the exact asset, your techs can consult CMS View to see the current asset location, go right to it, and complete their job.

Central Supply

As the owners of equipment, the Central Supply department needs to know where assets are throughout the building. If they run low—especially on high-demand equipment—they have to spend money renting inventory to fill gaps. 

With RTLS, the team now has 100% live visibility into their inventory. They can see when inventory, such as a pump, has been discontinued and sent to the dirty room. This allows them to grab them, clean them, and circulate them back out without waiting for a heads up from nurses or other staff.

Benefits of using RTLS

There are a wide variety of benefits from RTLS, including:

• Better inventory visibility. By having real-time visibility into your asset's location, you’ll be able to better manage inventory status. No more guesswork or running around to track an asset down.

• Productivity and efficiency. A better-managed inventory lets you plan routes accordingly and complete more work in less time, instead of showing up at the last known location and having to ask around or double back.

• Increased PM compliance. Knowing where your assets are located cuts down on wandering, and while that allows for more efficiency, it also allows you to focus on the work on hand and reduce errors to maintain the highest degree of compliance.

• Saving money. While this benefit was mentioned earlier, it’s important to highlight it again. By knowing when assets are ready to be cleaned, your Central Supply teams can get equipment back into circulation faster instead of spending money on rentals. This not only saves money in the long run but also keeps equipment in circulation more efficiently than waiting on rentals to arrive. 

Take advantage of a CMMS made for healthcare

You will be able to add RTLS to CMS View for a more enhanced, upgraded experience. Asset icons will update in real-time on your floorplans, allowing you to maintain 100% inventory visibility.

FSI has been in healthcare maintenance for over 20 years, and our CMMS is built for and by healthcare professionals. Our cloud-based computerized maintenance management software helps manage over 650 million sq. ft. of facility space, and our team surveys another 50 million sq. ft. every year to give you usable, accurate data for hospital facility management. 

RTLS was a topic that came up in our last customer advisory board meeting. We use these meetings to gather feedback from our clients and to work on innovating our CMMS, introducing additions such as RTLS to make your life easier.

Learn more about FSI’s CMMS and how it can help your healthcare maintenance department by requesting a demo today.