A few years ago, I happened on a news item about a small town (Dutch, I think) that removed from its roads nearly all traffic signs. Lo-and-behold, the town's accident rate declined markedly. Too many signs and too much information produces too much competition for a too-tiny attention span. Result: clutter, confusion and cacophony.
And, regrettably, I'm forced to admit being old enough to remember a song with lyrics something along the lines of "Signs, signs, everywhere signs. Blocking the scenery, messing my mind..." Dumb song but an under-appreciated message for complex health care campuses everywhere.
How much have you spent on your organization's internal signage? How's it working for you? Do you ever sit in your main lobby and watch people walk in? Where do their eyes go? How long do they hesitate? Do they read your signs, not find the information they're looking for and then give up and ask someone how to get to radiology even though it's right there, fifth sign from the top?
Wouldn't you love an alternative to having your sign company on an expensive retainer? You've come to the right place.
Here's an idea: toss most of your existing signs in the recycling bin and use RFID as your wayfinding system. Hand each visitor a card (costing a few pennies each) as they walk in, keyed to their destination. Send 'em on their way. Place a sensor at each junction, decision point or elevator bank giving directional cues when the card is in proximity.
"Turn left... Turn right... These elevators to the third floor. Second door on the left..." The cues could be visible, auditory, printed, lighted panels, whatever works for your patient population.
If said visitor happens to spy the coffee shop and detours off-route for a double espresso, the system is sufficiently robust to recalculate the best, now-revised route to the original destination.
Issuing the card also alerts the destination department that "Joe is on his way from the east lobby.." If Joe hasn't arrived in, say, 15 minutes, you're further alerted to go find him because he's probably chatting up a nurse or something.
The technology works; I've seen a prototype - little robots that skitter around the hallways, making their way unerringly from points A to B and back. It operates perfectly on the wireless network you're already installing campus-wide. You are installing wireless, aren't you?
No need to buy new signs when you relocate a department or build a new wing. Just re-program the system and spend $10 buying a few new cards.
Think I'm cuckoo? Here a patent for the idea. There are others. I had the idea first but couldn't get my employer at the time interested, and wasn't smart enough to file my own application. Ah well. What's one idea, more or less? I've got a million of 'em.
I can already hear your CFO's objections. "We can't do that! The signs aren't fully depreciated yet!" OK, well, that's a good reason not to do something.
Oh, and make sure your architect can spell R-F-I-D.
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