The Clinismart Container Journey

When we first set out to create a ‘safe’ sharps container, little did we know the journey we were about to embark upon. What we would learn over ten years of clinical trials and research, extensive design R&D, microbiological testing, and movement mapping, was that the solution to safety and risk prevention in sharps disposal was not solely “a container”, it was so much bigger than that.

 

Let’s fast forward 30+ years, and what you see supporting this “container” is a range of over 50 engineered mounting and movement accessories designed for risk reduction and efficiency, over 5 peer reviewed journal papers indisputably proving the superiority of design and process, multi-million dollar robotic machinery supporting a bacterial-load reduction washing process that is globally unrivalled, proprietary cleaning liquids that are environmentally balanced and free from harmful chemicals, comprehensive waste segregation strategies, and bulk-transport solutions that uphold the same safety and infection-prevention imperatives whether in a patient ward, on trucks, or at the back of a waste compound. The Sharpsmart container is just the tip of the Sharpsmart iceberg… 

 

So let’s explore a potential container journey within an inner city hospital…. 

 

Container is Delivered
by a Sharpsmart Transporter

Our container is delivered in a bulk transporter to a customers’ waste compound. In transport, the containers are suspended by multiple-tiered rails fixed onto the inner walls of the transporter. Containers are secured upright by interlocking rail hooks on the back of each container, and rails are vertically spaced to ensure containers do not impact each other in transport.

Travels through the Hospital
via Internal Delivery Cart

Once off-loaded from the truck, our container is moved into the hospitals' clinical environment via a bulk delivery cart. Evenly spaced pegs across two horizontal rails firmly affix to a design recess in the side of each container. The equal-depth design of all Sharpsmart 64-Series containers enables a flexible combination of multiple container sizes being transported, whilst again achieving off-floor suspension and fixed upright movement. Multi-container transport reduces labour and alleviates the pressure on internal service lifts and narrow corridors.

Stored on a Sharpsmart Wallsmart

Adhering to the practice of storing empty containers at ward level, this hospital opts to store multiple collectors in its utility room to efficiently cater for the ward’s high volume turnover. Two Sharpsmart Wallsmart panels have been fixed-mounted to one of the internal walls enabling the direct transfer of containers from the internal delivery cart to suspended wall mounting. Utilising once again the peg system that has been designed for interlocking Sharpsmart containers, the Wallsmart peg system enables multiple container combinations and easily identifiable ‘empty/full’ container separation if used as a transfer area.

 

Moved & Positioned
using the AccessSmart Trolley

When an empty Clinismart container is required at ward level, the nurse or internal field service technician transports bulk containers via an internal delivery cart, or alternately, in the case of our container, mobilises a single unit on a Sharpsmart AccessSmart trolley for bedside use. Engineered to achieve both locked static positioning and ease of movement, the AccessSmart Trolley is best utilised for mobile point-of-use positioning at patient care. The soft close mechanism minimises odour reduction and its hands free foot pedal eliminates touch with the surface of the container. A side mounting bracket affixed to either side of the trolley enables a second container to be co-mounted for point-of-use segregation of dual wastestreams.

Once Full, Container is
Stored in Transporter

Once our container is full, a service tech scans the container barcode to identify its ward positioning for audit reporting and analysis, and engages the side-locks of the container to prevent further access. The container is then moved to wall mounted storage within the ward’s utility room, or bulk-transported on an internal delivery cart to the hospital waste compound. At dock level, this hospital utilises Sharpsmart transporters to optimise its storage footprint. The process of transferring container directly from a cart into a transporter ensures collectors never touch the ground and remain uncontaminated ready for pickup.

Full Containers Picked Up
& Replaced
by Sharpsmart

At its scheduled bi-weekly pickup, a Sharpsmart truck delivers a transporter full of clean empty containers, and replaces its load with recently filled containers. Repeating step one of the process, our container is transported in bulk company within a Sharpsmart transporter. The locked upright positioning ensures contents are not put in jeopardy, transport risks are minimised, and the hospitals’ cradle to grave responsibility is protected.

Transported Safely
to a Sharpsmart Facility

Once our container (and its fellow containers) reaches a Sharpsmart facility, it is still in the same condition in which it left the ward. Its leakproof seal has guaranteed no leakage has occurred during transit, its fixed upright positioning has ensured protection of its exterior veneer, its impenetrable casing has ensured there has been no risk of content protrusion, and its secure tamper-proof locks have eliminated unauthorised access at dock level storage and in transport.

Emptied on Sharpsmart Robotic Washline

From transporter to robotic washline, our container is loaded onto a mechanic conveyer belt, robotic arms unhinge its front and side locks, and contents are robotically emptied; a carefully engineered process that eliminates human intervention and circumvents clinical waste contact risk.

Washed through a Rigorous
8-step Process

Once our container is emptied, it continues on the third stage of its journey through the Sharpsmart robotic washline; a rigorous process housed within a conveyer-belt washing chamber which combines environmentally friendly cleaning liquids, powerful jet-blasting hoses and steam technology to achieve the highest levels of bacterial load reduction and micriobiological efficacy.

Final Quality Control Check

The final stage of our containers' journey is a comprehensive quality control check. During this step of the process, our container is physically inspected; inbuilt security locks are checked to be in working order, and once passing the quality inspection, our container is recommissioned for another clinical waste containment assignment.  

 

We could offer you a simpler journey;

 

One that includes a disposable sharps container being shipped in a box, picked off a shelf and assembled by hand, moved through a hospital corridor on a nurses cart, and then discarded in a cardboard box once full. It doesn’t take eleven steps, it doesn’t require years of R&D or clinical trials, or necessitate a multi-million dollar infrastructure and machinery investment, but, quite simply, it’s not worth the human risk….

At Sharpsmart we believe that lives are worth the investment we have made and we proudly stand by our decision to push the boundaries of reusable technology to achieve needlestick injury reductions that are globally unprecedented, landfill reduction that is worth writing home about, and a sense of purpose that leaves us fulfilled that every day... We Make Healthcare Safer.