Productivity gains from new use of standing machines A Case Study of Efforts at a Nursing Home for the Elderly

The labor shortage in Japan's nursing care industry is expected to become increasingly severe in the future, and improving productivity in the nursing care sector is a top priority. In a study using standing machines to address this issue, it was found that the use of multiple machines simultaneously can improve efficiency quantitatively. However, no previous studies have shown that the use of standing machines leads to increased productivity, other than the studies. At Facility A, the nursing care facility for the elderly that is the subject of this study, a standing machine was used as a means of transferring patients, but the nursing care staff complained that it took too much time to transfer the patients. As a result of trial and error, it became possible to reduce the number of times a standing machine sling is attached and removed from the patient from three times to once by adding movement and sitting position retention to transfers, which is the purpose of using a conventional standing machine. In this study, we report a case in which this new method of using a standing machine successfully reduced the number of assistance procedures. We compare the use of the new standing machine with the use of the conventional standing machine, and clarify the specifics of the procedure omission. In addition to the procedure omission, what kind of productivity improvement has been achieved is also discussed. We believe that this study will contribute to the diffusion of standing machines and the improvement of productivity in the field of nursing care.