Zoning of Premises/Store for Storage of Medicines

Session 6: Zoning of Premises/Store for Storage of Medicines

and Medical Supplies

Total Session Time: 120minutes

Prerequisites

Learning Tasks

By the end of this session students are expected to be able to:

Resources Needed

SESSION OVERVIEW

Activity/

Step Time Content

Method

1 5 minutes Presentation Introduction, Learning Task

Presentation Definition of Zoning

2 5 minutes

Brainstorming

3 20 minutes Presentation Zoning of Stock within the Store

Criteria for Establishing Zones within a Store

4 10 minutes Presentation

Presentation

5 30 minutes Group discussion Types of Stock Location Within a Zone

Presentation

6 30 minutes Stock Classification

Presentation

7 Stock Within a Zone

10 minutes Buzzing

8 5 minutes Presentation Key Points

9 5 minutes Presentation Evaluation

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SESSION CONTENTS

STEP1: Presentation of Session Title and Learning Tasks (5minutes)

READ or ASK students to read the learning tasks and clarify

ASK students if they have any questions before continuing

STEP 2: Definition of zoning (5 minutes)

Activity: Brainstorming (3 minutes)

ASK students to brainstorm on the following question

ALLOW few students to respond

WRITE their answers on flip chart/ board

CLARIFY and SUMMERIZE by using the content bellow

o Is the process of separating an area (building or room, a locked cupboard, a refrigerator, a

freezer, or a cold room), which should provide distinct environmental conditions, a

certain level of safety or the required level of security.

STEP 3: Zoning of Stock within the Store (20 minutes)

combination of temperature and security as well as the required level of safety and security.

This initial zoning process is the most basic way in which supplies can be arranged.

conditions for medicines have been defined as storage in dry, well-ventilated premises at

temperatures of 15ᴼC-25ᴼC , or depending up climatic conditions, up to 30ᴼC (WHO 2003).

controlled. In temperate climates this temperature range can be achieved without air-

conditioning, but humidity control may still be necessary

daily at the hottest time of the day.

o Many stocks can be safely stored at uncontrolled room temperature.

o example of drug products which usually require refrigeration:

 insulin

 Ergometrine for injection

 vaccines,

 antitoxins

 sera and blood products

 test kits/diagnostic tests

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o These must be stored in refrigerator or cold chains because their potency depends on cold

storage.

o This is necessary to protect drug products, which have higher risk of theft, or to comply

with national laws

o Narcotics and other controlled drugs should be kept in a secure room, a safe or steel

cupboard/ cabinet to prevent access to unauthorized persons

o The keys to the secure store should be kept in a safe by a store in-charge

o Entry to the store must be controlled or restricted

A separate building is the best because it greatly reduces the risk of a fire spreading to the

main store. The flammables store must be well ventilated and fire proof; use water paints on

the walls.

STEP 4: Criteria for Establishing Zones within a Store (10minutes)

various criteria:

o Required storage temperature and humidity

o Size of the product

o Volume of batch

o Weight of batch

o Requirement for special storage equipment

o Dangers posed by products

o Required level of security

o Requirements of national legislation

national legislation and regulations.

internationally controlled drug products as well as antibiotics, for example.

levels will determine the required size each zone should have. For example a medical storage

facility may require only a small steel safe or a reinforced vault for storage of internationally

controlled drug products. Cold chain loads may require only a single refrigerator or require a

walk-in cold room.

manufacturer and indicated on the packaging as well as according to the requirements by

national drug legislation.

items can be stored on floor pallets or on shelves. This choice is determined by the volume of

batch of each product.

should be taken into account from the very beginning. The zoning plan should be as flexible

as possible to allow future changes such as extension of the cold room with a minimum of

structural changes to the building.

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STEP 5: Types of Stock Location within a Zone (30 minutes)

Activity: Small Group discussion(15 minutes)

DIVIDE students into small manageable groups

ASK students to discuss on the following question

REFER students to the recommended references

ALLOW students to discuss for 10 minutes

ALLOW few groups to present and the rest to add point not mentioned

CLARIFY and SUMMERIZE by using the content below

o Fixed location

o Fluid location

o Semi-fluid location

o In fixed location system, each stock item is allocated to specific shelves, pallet racking or

an area of floor. For this system to work well, the store has to be large enough to

accommodate the maximum possible level of stock for every item, including safety stock.

As stock is used up, the storage location is emptied and left vacant until a new shipment

of the item is received.

o Advantage:

 Simplest to manage/ stock administration is relatively easy because each stock item

can always be found in the same place.

o Disadvantages:

 Fixed location systems are inflexible. If there is a change in the quantity ordered or a

change in packaging, the assigned location may become too large or too small.

 If a new item is ordered, there may be no place to store it.

 Theft may increase because all store staff are familiar with the locations of valuable

items.

 Storage space may be wasted, because at times it is largely empty

o The store is divided into many designated locations. Each location is assigned a code.

Individual items are stored wherever space is available at the time of delivery.

o Administration for a fluid location system works as follows:

 The procurement unit provides information on the type, volume, and weight of goods

arriving.

 The store keeper asses which locations will be empty when the new stock arrives and

assigns an appropriate location. These data are recorded in the stock control system.

 If insufficient space is available, other stock items may be moved to create more

space

 The stock control location records are updated.

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o Fluid location systems require a classification system that allocates a unique identifier

code to each stock item and to each location. Also the stock record for each batch of each

item must always indicate the physical location of the item in the store.

o In a fluid location system, different batches of a particular item may be stored in several

different places (give an example).

o This systems benefit immensely from the use of a computerized bin location and storage

system, which improves productivity and optimizes storage capacity. Such systems

identify locations of items and the best locations for storing an incoming consignment

within the storage areas.

o Advantages:

 It uses available space efficiently because none of the places has to be reserved for

any specific item.

 Batches of items never have to be moved or relocated to maintain a certain order.

o Disadvantages:

 It requires sophisticated stock administration due to the difficulty of keeping track of

the storage places of all batches.

 Different batches of the same item may be stored in different places which makes

strict stock rotation and FEFO/FIFO management difficult.

 In case of errors, stock may be lost

o A Semi-fluid location system is a combination of the fixed and fluid systems.

o Each item is assigned a fixed space for picking stock. When an order is prepared, the

order-picking staff members know where to find each item.

o The remainder of the store is filled on the fluid location principle. When the picking stock

runs low, the fixed locations are restocked using items from the fluid locations.

o Advantages:

 Picking stock is always kept in the same place

 Picking stock is stored at a convenient height, eliminating the need for mechanical

handling during order picking in stores that issue in relatively small quantities.

 If demand increases for a particular item, the picking stock can be replenished more

frequently

 As new products are introduced, picking bays may be subdivided to provide sufficient

space.

o Disadvantages:

 It is not as space-efficient as a fluid location system.

 Risk exists (though less, unlike in a fixed location) that changing requirements will

disrupt the system.

STEP 5: Stock Classification (30minutes)

much easier for store personnel to control stock, take periodic stock inventory and pick

orders.

o Therapeutic / pharmacological category

o Alphabetical order by generic name

o Dosage form

o Random bin

o Frequency of use

o System level

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o Commodity code

o Combination

o May be an effective way of organizing medicines in smaller stores and in the dispensaries

of small clinical facilities where the store-keeper is the dispenser and also very

knowledgeable about pharmacology. It is not an advantage in large stores.

o Disadvantage:

 Applicable only to drug products

 Ambiguous

o Similar to therapeutic category and may be convenient in small warehouses.

o All hypertensives are together as are all antidiabetics or other drugs with a common

clinical indication.

o One problem is that many drugs have multiple clinical indications.

o A clinical indication system therefore requires a level of professional knowledge that

stores staff are unlikely to have.

o If staff do acquire this knowledge, theft may become a problem

o Is also attractive in peripheral store that keep a small number of items, but often seen in

both large and small facilities.

o When using this system, the labelling must be changed when the National Essential

Medicine List is revised or updated

o Advantages:

 Requires no knowledge about nature and use of items

 Applicable to any item

o Disadvantages:

 Mixes very different items

 Does not consider appropriate zones (temperature, safety, security etc.)

o Medicines come in different forms, such as tablets, syrups, injectable, and external use

products such as ointments and creams. In this system, medicines are categorized

according to their dosage form.

o Within the area for each form, a fixed, fluid, or semi-fluid system is used to store items.

Any of the other methods of categorizing can be used to organize the items more

precisely.

o Advantage:

 The forms are easy to recognize when receiving stock items-does not require much

skill

 Allows optimal use of space

o Disadvantage:

 Applicable only to drug products

o Identifies a specific storage space or cell with a code that corresponds to its aisle, shelf,

and position on the shelf.

o For example, a shelving unit can be divided vertically and horizontally into cells, each

cell with a specific location code. A unit of shelving might be labeled ―B‖, its bays ―B1‖

and ―B2‖ and its shelves ―A,‖ ―B‖ and ―C‖. A specific cell would be identified, for

example as B1-B, this cell is called a bin.

o This method can combine the methods described above. For example, items are placed

alphabetically within therapeutic classification. Generic names are used throughout. If

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there is more than one brand of the same generic drug preparation, all are stored in the

bin for that type.

o This system requires computer automation.

o Items for different levels of the health care system are kept together. This works well in

stores at a higher level when storage of kits is required.

o Advantage

 Reduce time required for put-away and order picking

o Disadvantage

 Level of use need to be determined for each item

 More storage space is required because many commonly used items appear at more

than one level.

 Distribution on a FIFO/FEFO basis becomes more difficult to achieve

 One of the other methods of organization is needed within each level of use to avoid

chaos

o Frequently used products that move quickly or often through the store should be placed in

the front of the room or closest to the staging area. This system should be used in

combination with another system.

o Each item has its own article and location code. This system has the greatest flexibility,

but it is also the most abstract.

o It is based on a unique/specific article code combined with a unique/ specific location

code

o Store keeping staff do not need any technical knowledge of the products to manage this

system because the codes contain the information needed for storing products properly,

such as temperature requirements, level of security, and flammability or clinical

indication, level of use or any other relevant data.

o Changes in the national medicine list can easily be introduced by assigning unique article

codes to new products.

o This system works well in computerized inventory control systems.

o The location code is totally independent of the article code and is similar to the random

bin principle.

o Codes can be designed to incorporate any number of characteristics including

 Correct storage temperature for the product

 Correct security level for the product

 Whether the product is flammable

 The building where the product is located

 Pack size

 Pharmaceutical form

o Advantage:

 Same logical order inherent in the coding

 No pharmaceutical knowledge needed

 Groups often correspond to required storage conditions

 Applicable to all items

 Increases security, but still allows items to be identified by those staff who have

access to the coding key.

o Disadvantages:

 Codes must be known or looked up

 Order may not be entirely consistent

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STEP 6: Arrangement of Stock within a Zone (10minutes)

stock from being lost.

clinical indication or dosage form with products arranged alphabetically within those

categories.

Activity: buzzing (5 minutes)

ASK students to pair up and buzz for 5 minutes on the following question

different zones?

ALLOW few pairs to respond

WRITE responses on the flip chart/ board

CRALIFY and SUMMERIZE by using the content bellow

STEP 7: Key Points (5 minutes)

in a part of the store with the correct combination of temperature and security. This initial

zoning process is the most basic way in which supplies can be arranged.

humidity, size of the product, volume of batch, weight of batch, requirement for special

storage equipment, dangers posed by products, required level of security and requirements of

national legislation.

pharmacological category, alphabetical order by generic name, dosage form, random bin,

frequency of use, system level, commodity code or a combination of other methods.

stock from being lost.

STEP 8: Evaluation (5minutes)

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References:

Management Science for Health and World Health Organization. (2012). managing access to

medicines and health technology, (3rd ed.). Kumarian Press

Management Science for Health and World Health Organization. (1997). Managing Drug

Supply, (2nd ed.).West Hartford, Connecticut, USA:Kumarian Press

World Health Organization (WHO), Regional Office for Africa Brazzaville (2004), Management

of Drugs at Health Centre Level Training Manual.

Jessop, D and Morrison (1994) Storage and Supply of Materials, (6th ed.), Prentice Hall

Commodities. John Snow, Inc./deliver in collaboration with the World Health

Organization

Guire G. Mc (2011), handbook of humanitarian health care logistics: designing the supply

network and managing the flows of information and health care goods in

humanitarian assistance during complex political emergencies (2nd ed.). Retrieved

fromwww.humanitarianhealthcarelogistics.com

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