An Inventory Without Analytics is like a Car Without Gauges

How would it feel to drive somewhere without having any gauges? Would it make you nervous to not know how fast you were going? How much gas is in the tank? Is the engine running hot? The same might be said for performing a medical equipment inventory of a facility and not having the data and analytics To know what’s happening.

First of all, what is data and analytics? There are so many “buzz words” around healthcare about these topics. Our goal is to cut through all of that and get straight to where the rubber meets the road. Inventory data is all of the information that you are able to accumulate when performing the actual task of the inventory. This can include manufacturer,  model, serial number, condition, date of manufacture, etc. The analytics from an inventory take this data and make clear interpretations from it. When you know the asset’s condition, typical lifespan, value and market viability, you can then make projections and analyses – analytics. The result is capital planning and management
become rational and data-driven.

So, how is this like driving a car? Think if you were driving a car without the speedometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, or even the warning lights that most cars are equipped with. These are data displays to provide information and monitor the condition of your vehicle. Modern systems include lane departure and crash avoidance. Without them you run major risks of all kinds of things happening you don’t expect, most of them bad. Managing a multi-million dollar portfolio of medical equipment probably isn’t the place to be taking unnecessary risks by not having information and monitoring. Understanding the data and analytics from your equipment portfolio makes you fully
aware when you are in the driver’s seat. You wouldn’t want to be caught speeding, or having a slow leak that turns into catastrophic failure in your vehicle; the same applies to understanding the condition and risk in your medical equipment portfolio.

If you are being asked to get the most from your assets, contact MERC to learn more about harvesting your data and applying our analytics to get the best performance from your capital equipment.