1. Home
  2. Solutions
  3. Hospitals
  4. The Sharpsmart Container Journey

The Sharpsmart Container Journey

When we first set out to create a ‘safe’ sharps disposal 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…. 

 

full-header

Container is Delivered
in a Sharpsmart Transporter

Sharpsmart containers are delivered to a hospital waste compound in a bulk transporter. In transport, the containers are suspended on multiple tiered rails; all containers are secured upright by interlocking rail hooks on the back of each container, and rails are vertically spaced to ensure they do not impact each other in transport.

Bulk transported
via an 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 S-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 bulk-mounting Wallsmart

This hospital opts to store multiple containers in their utility rooms to efficiently cater for the ward’s high volume turnover. Two 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 CartSmart Trolley

When an empty sharps container is required at ward level, the nurse or internal field service technician transports multiple containers via an internal delivery cart, or alternately, mobilises a single unit on a Sharpsmart CartSmart trolley for bedside use. Engineered to achieve both locked static positioning and ease of movement, the Cartsmart 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.

Wall-mounted in patient rooms

Within the hospital environment, the volume capacity, positioning and access needs of sharps container vary from ward to ward; from dialysis to critical care, from surgery to cardiology, our interchangeable accessories cater for seamless movement across an entire facility irrespective of the size of container, volume or useage requirements. Fixed mounting brackets in patient rooms enable container to be wall mounted for recurring use; the dovetail design at the back of each Sharpsmart container locks downwards onto the bracket to secure the container in place.

Once Full, Container is
Stored in Transporter

Once the contianer is full, a porter scans the container barcode to identify its ward positioning for audit reporting and analysis, and engages the side-locks of the collector 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, Sharpsmart transporters optimise storage footprint significantly. The process of transferring container directly from a cart into a transporter ensures containers never touch the ground and remain uncontaminated ready for pickup.

Full Containers Picked Up
& Replaced by Sharpsmart

At its scheduled 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, Sharpsmart containers are transported in bulk within a 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 containers return to a Sharpsmart facility, they are still in the same condition in which they left the ward. The containers' 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.

Container Emptied in a robotic tipping machine

From transporter to robotic washline, each collector is loaded onto a mechanic conveyer belt; robotic arms unhinge its front and side locks, and contents are robotically emptied. This tipping technology represents a carefully engineered process that eliminates human intervention and circumvents sharps contact risk.

Washed through a Rigorous
8-step Process

Once a 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 a Sharpsmart container journey is a comprehensive quality control check. During this step of the process, our collector is physically inspected; the safety tray mechanism is tested, inbuilt security locks are checked to be in working order, and once passing the quality inspection, the container is recommissioned for another sharps containment assignment.  

 

We could offer you a simpler journey;

 

One that includes a disposable 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.