During this time, many of us are reflecting on the past year’s struggles and successes, and changes we would like to make for the new year.
However, we all understand that to grow, we must be willing to make changes. Even though practices have emerged from the pandemic, we still face lingering challenges and a shortage of team members. Now is the time to think about your long-term solutions and the changes your practice can make to provide you with better structure and growth for this year and beyond.
Color-coded procedure tubs with locking covers keep materials and instruments organized and safe.
It can be easy for teams to overlook the importance of organization when it comes to dental instruments and materials. The cost of disorganization is high, and clutter and chaos can cause serious losses in productivity. Teams often may not realize blind spots adding to inefficiencies within the practice. Disorganization in the treatment room and central sterilization along with inefficient inventory management may cause both the staff and patients increased stress. Zirc recognized the struggles and developed a solution specifically for dental teams called Color Method™.
What is Color Method?
Color Method is the process of managing dental instruments and materials by assigning each procedure a different color. Zirc’s Color Method creates a streamlined, stress-free, day-to-day routine from setup to sterilization. Implementing this simple system adds a visual element to both instrument and material management yielding a workflow properly optimized for efficiency. When instruments and materials move efficiently, so do you.
5 Easy Steps to Implement Color Method
- Get colorful. Begin by assigning a color for each procedure in the practice.
- Instrument management. For optimal efficiency and compliance, it is best to utilize a procedure tray with locking cover to keep everything together. Each set up should contain an instrument cassette with matching bur holder.
- Material management. Procedure tubs become a portable drawer for procedure specific materials. This allows materials to be at your fingertips and easy to find during every procedure.
- Central sterilization. Make this space the hub of your practice. Zirc recommends storing both trays and tubs in this area creating a centralized location for grab-and-go organization.
- Treatment rooms. Countertops should be free of clutter. Utilize drawers or cabinets to store disposable products that will be needed for each procedure, such as cotton products, gloves, saliva ejectors, etc.
Below: From chairside to sterilization, cassettes securely house and protect instruments.
Benefits of a Color-Code System
Efficiency
Zirc’s color-code products are designed for the highest level of organization and efficiency for the dental practitioner. Instruments and materials are organized in a way that will eliminate the chance of missing items at chairside.
Decrease stress
It’s important that the entire dental team utilize good organization in the workplace to support one another and create a cohesive work environment. Color-code organization will boost team members confidence and provide a sense of security knowing they are prepared with everything needed for each appointment.
Working alone
It is more important than ever to have good clinical systems in place as teams struggle with being short-staffed. Because Color Method provides quick easy identification and access, it is effortless to cross-train any team member and allow the doctor to work independently.
New team members
Color-code systems can enable training to go much faster. Offices can simply train future team members to identify each procedure by color, allowing them to settle into their jobs much quicker. They will be confident they have all the necessary tools and adjuncts at their fingertips. Think about how impressed you would be as a potential new team member with an office that has implemented this organizational system.
Cost savings
Cassettes help protect your instruments from extensive damage and prolong their life. Procedure tubs make restocking dental materials more efficient by eliminating excessive overstock and lost or expired materials.
Time savings
Less time is spent in inventory management. As clinical team members you will no longer go from operatory to operatory to evaluate materials needed. Procedure tubs are simply restocked once a week to ensure material management is efficient. You will also notice a significant decrease in the number of times you leave chairside to retrieve missing items and will eliminate the chance of reprocessing errors.
Infection prevention
Utilizing cassettes prevents your team from a potential exposure by minimizing the handling of contaminated instruments. The clear locking tray covers allow practitioners to remain compliant with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines regarding instrument transportation.
Patient perception
Creating a workspace that is colorful and well-organized will automatically allow patients to feel more at ease in your practice. They will quickly recognize your attention to detail that allows you to start in the treatment room and stay in the treatment room.
Procedure tubs offer a convenient grab-and-go solution for improved efficiency and inventory management.
Tracy, a licensed dental assistant at Nortey Dental in Wells, Maine, shared her experience with implementing Color Method.
“I reached out to Zirc Dental Products because we were frustrated with the amount of time spent with room turnover, reprocessing instruments, and the overall disorganization. After an assessment with Zirc’s Clinical and Efficiency Consultant, we opted to have the Zirc team spend the day in our practice and help implement Color Method. I now feel like our entire team is working together and at ease. The overall appearance and organization is much more streamlined. Our day-to-day stress level has significantly decreased.”
More Time to Focus on What Matters Most
When your office streamlines and automates clinical processes, you have more time to focus on what matters most — your patients. It’s time for your teams to step back and truly evaluate your current operational systems. You should identify where your opportunities are for improvement and take actionable steps to help your team thrive now and into the future. With so many benefits, there is no doubt that this small change can improve the overall efficiency and confidence of the team.
Ask yourself, is your practice as efficient as it could be? Get ready to thrive in 2022 by elevating your organization to the next level.
Published in TIPS – March/April 2022. Submitted by Zirc.
Category: Merchandise
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