Reps can help their accounts maximize efficiency and storage needs.
Your customers may not necessarily need more storage. But, they might need better storage, and the right cabinet configuration can provide the solution they seek.
As the market continues to shift from hospital settings (traditionally, hospitals have claimed 70 percent of the market) to ambulatory care – including urgent care centers, clinics and other off-site offices – today, as much as half of one’s customer base may include stand-alone facilities. Particularly as more health systems seek a consistent look across multiple sites – and often across multiple states – distributors working with reputable manufacturer partners can guarantee the high level of quality assurance their customers require, including regulatory consistency and cabinet construction designed to ensure the facility meets LEED certification and sustainability requirements.
Efficient use of space
Distributor sales reps can help their customers make better use of their space when they fully understand office workflow and how that space will be used, note experts. This includes planning for growth (e.g., installing modular cabinet configurations, which help accommodate expansion) or changing needs, such as new lighting solutions. Sometimes only 15 to 20 patients come through a particular space, and the facility might not require full cabinets so much as cabinets that are easily stocked and accessible to caregivers. Many organizations are utilizing lean methodologies, which means casework is stocked with only the items needed for the day. The items in the casework are easily stocked and accessible, and the facility avoids having to dispose of expired items.
In many cases, carts offer a value-added means of transporting products to patients, thereby eliminating wasted steps from the casework to the patient, and back. Even the smallest detail, such as the placement of drawer and cabinet locks, can impact office efficiency. For instance, when locks are placed higher up (just under the countertop), it means less bending and better ergonomics for physicians, nurses and other caregivers. In addition, customers often look for accessories that help them organize items inside of the casework, such as drawer dividers and tools for labeling locations of items in the casework. In the end, customers will be pleased to discover that greater efficiency can help reduce unnecessary costs.
Healthcare – not office – efficient
Milling companies and office retailers – which might attract accounts with lower prices up front – are not necessarily positioned to offer cabinet solutions suited specifically to healthcare settings. Less expensive – and lower-end – cabinets (or components of the cabinets), which might be designed for general office use rather than healthcare settings, may need to be replaced soon after they are installed. Sometimes hinges or slides that have been pulled out of the wood stop functioning, and doors start to droop.
Another issue that lower-end cabinets pose is that of infection control – or lack of it. High quality, healthcare-grade cabinets are designed to minimize seams and other such points, which collect spills and bacteria. (Today, some cabinet drawers include single-piece units that can be popped out for cleaning.) Wooden drawers and shelves must be designed to withstand cleaning and disinfection between patients, or else the wood might peel (also known as delamination).
Countertops present similar considerations: Laminate may be inexpensive, but it has seams, which can be a source of infection control issues. For this reason, seamless, solid surface counters are becoming increasingly attractive.
Working with customers
Cabinets are but one piece of the office setup process. Sales reps should talk to their accounts about how their new cabinets will fit in with the overall office design – including exam tables, lighting, chairs and other equipment. And while customers may be trying to achieve a certain look, at the end of the day, it’s important to balance function with aesthetics. If cabinets detract from workflow or storage needs, or if they lead to infection control issues, they are not providing a value for customers. When sales reps fully understand their accounts’ needs and goals, they can provide the right solutions.
Editor’s note: Repertoire would like to thank Midmark Corp. for its assistance with this piece.
Taking the LEED
When helping their accounts select the best cabinet solutions, sales reps should keep in mind that the cabinets themselves are not LEED certified. Furthermore, many customers today are looking at LEED alternatives. Either way, cabinets can have a positive – or negative – influence on a facility’s LEED (or LEED alternative) certification.
Some important points to consider with regard to LEED and LEED alternative certification are:
- Product sustainability. Cabinets constructed of recycled materials and organic materials carry a higher rating for certification.
- Modular vs. permanent construction. Whereas modular cabinets can be expanded, permanent cabinets can only be removed by ripping them from the wall. In the process, they become damaged and parts often must be thrown out, contributing to environmental waste. (As a plus, modular cabinets may depreciate similarly to capital equipment, whereas cabinets affixed to the wall are considered part of the building structure.)
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