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Shipping medical equipment requests unique packaging, crating, and shipping needs. Medical shipping logistics necessitate specialized knowledge, from large imaging systems to sensitive devices and supplies. This includes knowing how to prepare a wide range of medical assets for transport, such as: MRI machines, CT scanners, surgical devices, lasers, computers and peripherals, lab equipment, x-ray machines, hospital beds, treatment tables and other furniture, medication, miscellaneous medical supplies
These items are frequently large or heavy. They may also be fragile, with components such as lasers, gauges, lenses, or mirrors. In the case of medicines and supplies, they may have specific shipping or storage requirements.
After an exhaustive search, our client found in Impact Indicator 2 a partner with an equal passion for customer service and supply chain technology. The following topics are the basic shipping tips and key points to shipping medical devices securely.
Medical devices and equipment used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities include gastroscopes, ultrasound, X-ray units, oxygen concentrators, and patient monitors. Instruments used in surgical units include Bonney and tissue forceps, skin glue, rake and malleable retractors, and linear cutters and staplers. Specialized equipment such as energy systems, clips and staplers, cystoscopic equipment, and laparoscopic instruments are required in hospitals. Cardiac care units also require cardio-thoracic surgery equipment, such as bronchoscopy and cardiopulmonary bypass.
Medical devices can be shipped to other countries. Certain shipping restrictions do apply, however. The rules that a company must follow are determined by whether or not their device has received FDA approval. Companies are frequently asked by foreign governments to provide proof of FDA approval in the form of a Certificate to Foreign Government.
Medical devices that have been approved by the FDA and are legally marketed in the United States can be shipped anywhere in the world with no problems. If you want to ship a device that the FDA has not yet approved, you must follow the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act's export provisions.
Check out the FDA's rules and regulations for exporting medical devices for more information on how to export legally marketed or unapproved products.
According to our experience, other carriers, such as UPS and FedEx, have long-standing contracts with some medical device manufacturers. These contracts have extremely low shipping rates, but you won't be able to access them unless you work for a company that has been shipping medical device products for a long time.
Moreover, for businesses that rely on this equipment for daily operations, safe, on-time delivery is crucial due to the highly sensitive nature of these shipments, white glove delivery is highly recommended.
No company wants its assets to be lost or damaged during shipping. The stakes are especially high for medical equipment manufacturers, hospitals, and others in the industry. Not only must you safeguard your investment, but there are patients whose successful diagnosis and treatment may be dependent on the machines, devices, and supplies you ship.
Delays or damage to an asset may have an immediate impact on patients. As a result, you must go above and beyond to ensure that your items arrive in excellent condition and on time.
Custom packaging is the best way to ship medical equipment. A crating company will be able to provide protective packaging and custom cases that are tailored to your product's specific needs. To protect your products, foam packaging can be die-cut to the exact shape required.
Medical equipment is frequently expensive and fragile, and it must be shipped with extreme caution. Custom crates are used by many forwarders to protect equipment and prevent damage, shock, vibration, and abrasion. To safely deliver laboratory, diagnostic, surgical, and medical equipment, various shipping and packing options are available. Sensitive equipment, such as surgical lab and photographic equipment, lasers, and CT scanners, typically require specialized packaging materials. Extra bracing and cushioning avoids vibration while transporting sensitive equipment.
Specific materials for the sensitive nature of your medical shipment are selected to prevent abrasion, vibration, shock, and moisture, keeping your medical equipment as safe as possible throughout its transport. This includes:
Packaging materials include cardboard boxes, straps, adhesive tape, cling film, and moving blankets. Bubble wrap, hard cases, pouches, and cellophane overwrap are also used. Smaller items are placed in pouches. Straps keep heavy and bulky equipment on pallets secure. Cellophane overwrap is used to protect medical equipment from dirt and moisture, while bubble wrap protects fragile items even more.
Heavy medical equipment is frequently dismantled, and all parts are individually wrapped in bubble wrap or cling film. Diagnostic equipment, MRI machines, X-Ray scanners, and ultrasounds are examples of bulky, odd-sized, and heavy equipment that must be dismantled.
Medical device manufacturers have everything to gain by using indicators to monitor the entire product transportation process. Monitoring indicators are useful in a variety of industries. Shipping medical equipment is a good example. A shock indicator is commonly used to control the quality of raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished products during storage and transportation, to quickly detect potentially damaged products, and to reduce the risk of malfunction which unsuccessful diagnosis and treatment.
Outside-of-packaging indicators can serve as a visible deterrent to carriers and personnel who mishandle packages. Because indicators provide unequivocal evidence of an undesirable event, they can stimulate product inspections, exposing hidden damage and preventing damaged items from reaching the shelves.
Simple indicators can provide go/no-go assurance for impacts and temperature deviation. Impact indicators activate at predefined impact levels and provide a record of potentially hazardous falls or drops. Temperature indicators, on the other hand, activate when temperatures become excessively hot or cold.
To prevent delicate, sophisticated, and expensive medical equipment from damage during transit, after discussion, the client accepts Impact Indicator 2 as a trial. Adopted the use of the indicators on the most valuable products, MRI machines and CT scanners, to start tracking and monitoring.
Impact Indicator 2 is so visible that handlers can notice them and take proper care of the items, just as white glove delivery. Because most forwarding agents worldwide are familiar with monitoring indicator, they know how to handle it with extreme caution. They've essentially established the standard operating procedure as follows.
(1) Before moving or handling the shipment, make sure the Impact Indicator 2 is not activated and take picture as a proof. They could avoid taking responsibility for others and false accusations.
(2) Once they begin handling the goods, they will exercise extreme caution because they are aware that shipment is watched and that mishandling is unacceptable. The Impact Indicator is visual deterrent for handlers.
(3) Since indicators are tamperproof and cannot be reset, the handler must make a notation, note the date/time, and sign the document after a shock occurs.
The impact indicator helps identifies if a shock occurs during transit, and then our customers can avoid using a concealed damaged medical device that takes every patient’s life at high risk.
The clients can’t even believe this indicator improves the damage issues during shipment. In the afterward shipment, they practice the implementation of the indicators. According to statistics, the damage rate is reduced to less than 5% since 2022.
How do you use Shipping Indicator correctly? Contact Impact Indicator 2 now to learn more about best practice.
