Sante Service efficiently handles high volumes of medical supplies with 2 vertical lift modules

Case Summary

With 2 vertical lift modules (VLMs), Sante service efficiently stores and handles high volume of medical supplies while saving valuable floor space

Based in Paris, Sante Service is an association that ships medical supplies to people who have just been discharged from a hospital and need the items in their homes. The materials – medicines, dressings, syringes, and other essentials – are packed in a centralized location and dispatched directly to the patients. The heavy volume of shipments and the need for accuracy were straining the operation. By installing two Modula vertical lift modules (VLMs), Santé Service was able to meet all the demands while saving space in its facility.

The Problem

Sante Service had a large volume of medical supplies to process and send to some of its 1,300 patients throughout the day, and accuracy was critical. The service aimed to provide 80 percent of its orders within two hours of a request. But this was a difficult goal to meet when operators had to search through more than 1,000 items on shelves and retrieve them manually. It was also prone to picking errors.

The Solution

Sante Service chose two Modula Lift ML25 VLMs to meet both the speed and accuracy required to efficiently handle the medical supplies. With the VLMs, the organization benefited from quick picking times, reducing the possibility of errors through an automated picking process. Using radiofrequency terminals, orders for medical supplies are sent to the storage units to begin the retrieval. Operators then retrieve the items, guided by a laser indicator for which items to remove from a tray, and then place them in containers. Those containers are then transferred to the various departments on conveyor belts. Sante Service chose a double, opposed bay configuration that allows access to the machine from two positions. In this way, picking and transfer operations can be performed by two operators simultaneously. The Modula VLM also took advantage of the warehouse’s high ceiling to make use of vertical space, storing the 1,000 items in the unit rather than shelves. A total of 738 square feet (225 square meters) of storage area is held in only 49 square feet (15 square meters) of floor space.

Thanks to Modula’s warehouse management system (WMS) solution, Sante Service can also see what items have been removed from inventory and need to be replaced.