Benefits of RTLS in healthcare industries

Hospitals are busy, complex environments that are always changing, no two days are the same. The primary focus of hospital staff is to provide patients with straightforward access to care. They need their equipment and tools to be in the right place at the right time, so no time is wasted, and they can offer assistance as quickly as possible.

For the workflow to run efficiently, medical departments need to ensure their assets are managed securely and resources are used productively. Siemens RTLS system allows healthcare industries to do just that, with a completely transparent view of the entire facility and its assets, in real time.

The solution allows medical professionals to:

Keep track of assets in real-time
Improve the patient experience by increasing productivity and focus on patient care
Increase staff satisfaction by enhancing interactions and increasing motivation of the workforce
Improve workflows and optimise clinical operations by automating processes

The solution uses sensor-based tracking technology to identify places and locate all valuable assets, including objects, patients, and staff. Each asset is equipped with a tag, that uses wireless transmissions to send location data to receivers (repeaters) that are installed throughout the facility. The data can then be processed into actionable insights and becomes visualised through virtual interfaces.

RealTime Asset Optimisation

Provides an overview of the location and status of your tracked assets.

RealTime Hospital Navigator

This is a mobile app that provides patients, visitors, and staff with a personalised 3D map of the facility, showing important locations such as waiting areas, cafes, examination rooms and specific units. The app can give you step-by-step instructions on how to get to where you need to be, it offers different routes for patients with disabilities.

RealTime Asset Finder

This is the digital locating service that locates medical equipment in your organisation. As well as showing you where your assets are, it identifies specific features so you can work out exactly what you need. All your asset information is available in one place, along with a filter function so you can filter your search using different categories such as weight, size, department, colour, serial number etc.

RealTime Staff Connection

Automates manual activities, saving time, optimising workflows and makes it easier for your workforce to coordinate tasks and collaborate with each other. In turn, this will improve productivity and increase their work satisfaction.

RealTime Asset Security

This sends automatic alerts if any assets leave a secure zone. This helps prevent theft and misplacement of important/expensive equipment.

Secure zones can be personalised in specific areas, meaning you can tailor your security to your exact needs within different units. The alert notifications can also be personalised for different scenarios, using asset status information from the system. This includes maintenance dates, disinfection status and more.

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Siemens RTLS case study in Oslo, Norway

The Norwegian capital, Oslo, is the 2019 European green capital. The city maintains a sustainable way of life by utilising public transport services as an alternative to using a car. Siemens RTLS helps subway operators provide a high-performance train system, making it an attractive choice to the public.

By 2030, Oslo hopes to reduce CO2 emissions by 95% and become a car-free city, with the subway system making a significant contribution in helping them reach this goal.

There are over 115 trains operating every day, carrying almost 350,000 passengers along a rail network that spans over 86km. The network always needs to be operating at full capacity to ensure that the public opt for this mode of transport over using a car.

To make this happen, modernisation of the subway system is being put into action. With the ability to automate planning processes, it reduces the number of failures, improves flexibility, decreases response time, and heightens efficiency.

Previously, there were numerous digital systems already in use at Sporveien (Norway’s public transport operator), including digital timetables and digital maintenance records for trains. However these digital systems could only process information that has been sent directly to them, which caused problems, especially when it came to synchronisation of train positions with the digital work-shop system. Employees would waste a lot of time with manual efforts, phone calls and unnecessary train searches, causing delays in processing rolling stock.

Siemens SIMATIC RTLS system has now been put in place to correct these issues and optimise the subway system.

All trains were equipped with transponders and antennas, allowing them to be automatically located in real-time using RTLS gateways. Train information is then fed into visualisation in the workshops of Sporveien using the SIMATIC Locating Manager and combined with other management systems. All employees can now see the position of every train in every depot and retrieve any necessary information that they are looking for, including when the next service is due, when the train needs to be back on the line and if there is any maintenance to be done.

This new solution makes work for employees considerably easier, automating a number of jobs that would have otherwise had to be done manually. This removes the chance of human error, speeds up processes, takes away the need for multiple different programs and paper documents, and offers a visual representation of the entire work system. Employees will have all the information at their fingertips with just a few clicks of their mouse.

The upgraded planning and provision of the trains maximises service intervals, improves fleet utilisation and also reduces costs. SIMATIC RTLS is an important component in the continuous improvement of public transport services.