Photo: cowi

Logistics and patient flow 

The patient is the centre of attention and should experience the treatment as a coherent process which focuses on service, quality and efficiency. We optimise the utilisation of the building stock and rationalise the operation without compromising the work environment of the staff.

Balance between operation and investment

Denmark faces several major investments in the health area in the years to come. In the effort to get our money's worth in the health area, it will become important to centrally optimise logistics and the working procedures - both regards investment and operating savings.

The building of new hospitals may contribute large savings to the operation. During a period of 10-20 years, the savings can finance many of the emerged costs related to newbuilds. But huge savings can also be made in connection with refurbishment by changing and optimising the working procedures.

The ambulatory treatment is growing

The treatment of patients is to a greater extent being reorganised from hospitalisation to ambulatory treatment, and this continuously challenges the proportion between outpatient clinics and wards and in particular the interior decoration of the two.

One-day surgery is being expanded to include more surgical specialist areas, and in the medical area new types of combination treatments entail a significantly different treatment process, including also continuous adjustments to the need for hospital beds and ambulatory treatment respectively.

Photo: cowi

Lean optimises the operation

Changed treatment processes make demands on the working procedures. In COWI, we use Lean to optimise the working procedures. Lean is a powerful tool which distinguished itself by being particularly efficient in connection with minimising wasted time which is a consequence of inappropriate logistics and patient flow. With Lean it is possible to work in a smarter way - and not a harder way.

Lean can be used in connection with technical and service-related functions, and it can also be used in the clinical working day in for instance the surgical departments, the wards and within the area of psychiatry.

We create coherence

The objective of COWI's counselling is to transform our specialist knowledge into spacious functional buildings which meet the patients' needs for a coherent treatment process.

At the same time, we participate in rationalising the operation without forgetting the consideration for the work environment and the well-being of the staff.