insights
3 Things to Look for in your Environmental Services Software
Meeting Environmental Services goals requires a plan, and a software, unique to your facility.
Smart Facility Software is the original specialized software built for your unique EVS workflow.
As a hospital leader, you know better than anyone the impact that Environmental Services (EVS) performance has on your patient care environment. And you know how hard it can be to find the right software that can both manage the complexities of your specific hospital processes, without adding to your workload.
Here are three things to look for when selecting EVS software:
1) Does it capture data unique to your facility?
The most accurate calculation of EVS staffing needs begins with documenting the square footage in your own facility, and classifying the data by room type, floor type, and additional criteria. With an accurate model of your facility, you can calculate the exact time needed to clean the facility on a daily basis.
Smart Facility Software captures this data and turns it into tasks automatically, so you can plan and manage everything from daily cleans to discharges, to periodic projects. With Smart Facility, hundreds of institutions no longer have to rely on approximations of their facility’s needs. You can make efficient assignments, train staff, and report results, all within one specialized EVS software, all based on your unique data.
2) Does it support the entire EVS workflow?
EVS management is a complex web of skills, tasks, frequencies, timing, people and outcomes.
It involves keeping track of not only specialized cleaning protocols that continue to evolve as the science behind infection control evolves, but administrative requirements like certification, ongoing education and training, and regulatory reporting to respond to evolving healthcare requirements.
More than the sum of software modules:
The capability of a software to manage complex environments doesn’t just lie in isolated modules like task management, surveys, and scheduling. It lies in how these modules work together to support your entire workflow. The right software should be able to answer questions like:
- How do you organize, assign, log and report on tasks for every employee in a large department?
- How are Quality Inspection Survey Results used once you have them?
- Can the software turn the data into industry-required reports: for example, an OR Terminal Cleaning Log, or proof of cleaning policies to fulfill a Joint Commission request?
Without attention to the entire EVS workflow, data is just data. Only software that understands the complexities of EVS can turn facility data into meaningful quality and efficiency.
3) Is it built by people with specific industry experience?
Generalized software that can “do it all” tends to be designed by people more interested in software than your department. But specialized work requires specialized software, designed by EVS pros that are familiar with the specific challenges and complexities of your industry, and thus have the expertise to address and manage those complexities effectively.
Smart Facility is the foremost software built by EVS managers, for EVS managers. Our core staff is made up of EVS professionals who know exactly the challenges you face as a hospital director, because they’ve faced those same challenges.
That’s why we’ve been working since 1986 to build software solutions that address the specific needs of environmental services teams. And it’s why we continue to develop them, and work with our clients, to keep pace with the evolving demands of EVS: whether that means updating your work assignments for new COVID cleaning protocols, or figuring out how to use your data to address your hospital’s specific administrative needs.
Because you shouldn’t have to retrofit your software to fit your needs; it should be built around those needs.
Want to learn more? Check out our upcoming Webinar: Roadmap to Understanding & Procuring EVS Software.
Or contact us at 800–260-8665 or info@smartfacilitysoftware.com to schedule a personalized demo.