Improving Storage Efficiency for Piedmont Healthcare
Piedmont Hospital has been in existence since 1905 and has represented a stable, prominent reputation as one of Atlanta’s premier health care providers. McGee Storage and Handling has been a materials handling solutions partner to Piedmont Hospital since 1972. Today, Piedmont Hospital has grown to over 37,000 employees serving 3.4 million patients across 1,400 locations. That kind of growth demanded an upgrade in their distribution of supplies, and so a new distribution center was birthed with help from McGee Storage and Handling.
The Mission
Piedmont Hospital needed to gain more control of their supply chain. A buffer supply of goods was needed to assure a more seamless flow of needed product to all their locations. A location was found in East Point, Georgia and requests for quotations were developed and distributed.
The Challenge
Unique challenges confronted the project from the onset due to issues plaguing the entire materials handling industry nationwide:
- Supply chain problems
- Manpower issues
- Escalating Costs
Picking the right teammates to tackle these issues was paramount. Seemingly all contractors and manufacturers were busy, short staffed and doing what they could with the ever-changing supply chain issues. The McGee team was chosen to navigate the rocky environment and trusted to bring the project to a successful conclusion.
The Solution
A combination of selective pallet racking, pallet flow and carton flow was chosen to tackle the varying products to be stored. The first challenge for McGee was to choose the proper suppliers who through the years have proven to be trustworthy and proper partners. Unarco Material Handling (Pallet Racking and Rack Framing for Pallet and Carton Flow) and Engineered Products (pallet flow rails and carton flow staggered wheel beds). Both suppliers were in near constant contact with McGee to assure schedules were on target and project due dates were being met.
As general contractor, McGee managed the approval process, permitting through East Point GA, installation of all material and third-party inspection of work to complete the inspection permit process. Although the installation was scheduled for 10 weeks but took nearly 14 due to supply chain delays, McGee was still able to get a critical portion of the project (13 deep pallet flow) inspected separately allowing Piedmont to load their bulk pallets ahead of the final finish.
The Results
Long term, trusted relationships help to build lasting professional relationships and provide a true partnership for mutual success. With serious industry variables impacting this DC project there was never a moment when the end goal was out of site or an issue was not solvable. Long leads times were quickly addressed by McGee's relationships with alternate reputable manufacturers who could step up and commit to production schedules that would kept this project on course. Added truckloads kept the material flowing to the job site as production was underway, and crews were flexible in their work hours to install the multiple rack systems in the most efficient manner for the customer. The McGee team would like to give a robust THANK YOU to the professionalism, confidence and trust embodied by the Piedmont Healthcare team throughout this project. When variables are outside of our combined, immediate control - patience, flexibility and commitment to mutual success is paramount. From the initial design engineering, on through to the final inspections, McGee was able to help Piedmont transform their supply chain to accommodate their strategic growth plans forward.
Pallet Flow Entry 
Finished racking installed at site. 
A bird's eye view of the full area design. 
Detail view of the design. 
Thirteen deep pallet flow design.