An Application of ABC Analysis in the Clothing Service at Centro Hospitalar Cova Da Beira (CHCB) - Portugal

Cost reduction, along with the satisfaction of patient's and other users' needs, is one of the major concerns of industries and organizations that provide health care services. Hospitals are complex organizations that deal with a wide range of materials. These materials require adequate and sometimes specific management approaches. The nature of their customers (patients and other users) asks for a rigorous control of these materials. One of these materials, hospitals' linen, requires a detailed control system. Hospital's linen is crucial for a good overall performance of any hospital. This material can be used, not only as a protection against diseases and infections, but also as a way of providing a more comfortable patient stay. It can even be essential to their recovery. Another crucial aspect is its use as an auxiliary in medical tasks. Clothing services are responsible for managing this type of materials. Consequently, they are required to manage them in an optimal manner in order, not only to reduce costs, but also to satisfy patients and all other hospital users. The experiment reported in this study was deigned with the objective of improving the management of this material. Consequently, it will enable the clothing service to provide services capable of meeting customers' needs and requirements.