Logistics team to overhaul roll cage system at selected sites

Selected health service sites will soon be able to receive more efficient deliveries of stock, thanks to a new roll cage system implemented by HSV's Logistics team.

From June, the team will begin swapping its standard green plastic carts for custom-made aluminium roll cages that are lighter, more hygienic and easier to manoeuvre and store.

More than 130 new zinc-plated roll cages will be put into operation from next month when compliance checks and safety inductions have been completed.

HSV Director Logistics Armin Odobasic says the new collapsible roll cages are lighter and easier to use than the green plastic carts.

“They’re easier to manoeuvre on the wards because the physical footprint is much smaller, there’s no need for a pallet jack,” he says.

The custom-made roll cages can also hold more stock, enabling faster and more efficient unloading at each site.

Designed to fit onto forklift tines, each cage weighs 66kg and sits on castors, making it easy to manoeuvre through hospital corridors.

With an expected lifespan of at least 10 years, the roll cage trolleys are more durable than the old carts. The trolleys are also safer to handle with less chance of strain or injury to delivery staff.

In the short-term, the roll cages will be implemented at sites where green plastic carts (pictured) are in use, starting with eight deliveries per week to Footscray and Williamstown Hospitals. This means health services that currently receive stock on pallets will not receive the new roll cages at this stage.

However, Armin says he expects the number of roll cages in use to increase as operations expand.

“As we scale, we will keep looking at logistical solutions for customers that want to convert from pallets to roll cages,” he says.

Each roll cage will be fitted with a tracking system that allows the units to be scanned and easily located and returned after unloading.

The roll cage upgrade – introducing the lighter, safer, more durable trolley system with improved visibility, increased manoeuvrability and track and trace technology – is part of a continuous plan to improve operations and efficiency at HSV’s Derrimut Distribution Centre.