One of the company’s clients —a large hospital—was struggling with a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) shortage during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their supply chain had stopped entirely, and the hospital wasn’t able to order or acquire the equipment they needed. The hospital also didn’t have a way to measure the amount of PPE they were using or predict how much they would need in the future.
The company had already been trained in human-centered design through ExperiencePoint’s Enterprise Solutions, which meant they were able to respond swiftly to the hospital’s challenges. They began by working with the hospital to investigate the nature of the problem and identify the hospital’s specific needs. They proceeded to delegate a team of data scientists to build quick electronic prototypes that could process, organize and display relevant data. The scientists created many quick iterations to make sure they had a design that reflected the information the hospital needed.
In just 14 weeks, the team created a visual dashboard that presented PPE use by hospital ward, daily consumption, and type of equipment. The dashboard’s user-friendly interface made it easy to identify and investigate anomalies and included a predictive modeling system for forecasting future waves. Thanks to this project, the hospital was able to effectively ration and plan their PPE use over the course of the pandemic.
