Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
Research and Innovations (new projects / technology / innovations / service models)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
HA Young Investigators Session (Projects to be presented by HA staff who had joined HA for 10 years or less)
Authors (including presenting author) :
WONG CYM(1), NG EYL(2), LAW JSL(3), LO WY(3), WONG LPK(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Catering Service, Kowloon Hospital, (2) Administrative Division, Kowloon Hospital, (3) Facilities Management, Kowloon Hospital, The Hospital Authority
Introduction :
The Patient Catering Services has been providing meals to multiple locations including the Rehabilitation Block in Kowloon Hospital (KH), Hong Kong Eye Hospital (HKEH) and Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital (HKBH), in food trolleys by outsourced transportation contractors on a daily basis. On-and-off reports on food spillage and requests for replacement were received, esp. when there was driver turnover, leading to potential delay in meal distribution to concerned patients. As the meal delivery involves food trolleys loading/unloading and outsourced contractor transportation, a smart system to track down the course of delivery and to identify the root cause of food spillage is crucial for preventive measures. It is believed that severe motion or vibration of the food trolleys during transportation would indicate a possible spillage of liquid food, e.g. congee and soup. Instead of being surprised at the destination for delivery, a motion and vibration data logger would help: (i) revealing the cause of food spillage and (ii) triggering the relevant contingency plan timely to minimize potential interruption to meal delivery.
Objectives :
To promote safe and timely patient meal delivery and to obtain advance information for contingency action in relation to transportation issues.
Methodology :
By mounting the high accuracy solid-state MEMS-based sensors* on the designated food trolleys, the smart system can track and log the real-time vibration and motion measurements with built-in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)** position received from the food trolleys during the course of transportation. The Time and Location for the possible food spillage in the delivery route could then be identified. With the logged data, attention could be paid at certain common bumpy location(s) or corner(s) where food spillage may likely occur and contingency action could be triggered to prepare spare food for early replacement.
Result & Outcome :
i) The software user interface can easily visualize (show in red circles) and identify where and when the severe motion or movement is detected. When it goes over the pre-set limits, the system will play out an audible alarm. ii) All the data measurements are logged in a cloud-based database that can be retrieved any time for historical trending and report generation iii) The logged data can be passed to the involved parties and contractors for delivery improvement review or assessment iv) The smart system can serve as a preventive maintenance (PM) tool for safe and timely meal transportation. There have been several episodes of food spillage reported in the past years (i.e. 10cases in 2021, 3 cases in 2022 and 2 cases up to Sep 2023) involving one to five wards per case which might involve damage of the food trolleys as well. Surprise inspections have been conducted to identify the cause and location of food spillage. Upon the testing and pilot run of the project in Sep 2023, one case of minor food spillage was reported involving 1-2 meal trays only. It was believed that drivers were more aware of their driving behavior upon the installation of sensors and the implementation of the project. At the moment, 16 sensors have piloted on food trolleys for wards in Rehabilitation Block of KH. Upon further verification of the thresholds for issuing warning alert, the logging result would be shared with the related parties for risk mitigation regarding patient meal transportation.
