Just a few months ago, two of the operating rooms (OR) were at risk of closing due to an unexpected issue with a part of the room: the doors. Rollers that allow the OR door to move on its track were broken, creating a potential safety hazard to staff—having to slide the heavy, barn-like door manually—as well as threatening to compromise the sterile environment.

Part of the damaged rollers that caused issues with the OR doors.

Although backup plans were in place, Dlouhy knows the overall experience was cumbersome.

“Sometimes you just don’t know what you have to do until you’re put into a corner,” says Operations and Projects Manager Anthony Dlouhy who oversees the teams within Engineering Services who were assigned to fix the problem.

Solving the issue became complex when he discovered massive delays in getting the parts the team needed to repair the doors.

“We’re not immune to the supply chain issues the world is dealing with,” he says. “Our supply chain team found some outside vendors who did everything they could, but other companies wouldn’t even respond to us.”

The answer, though, was right under his nose, or, in this case, under his feet.

Dlouhy says the saving grace came when the lock and key team had the idea to see if the parts they needed could actually be made at UI Hospitals & Clinics.

“It was incredible,” Dlouhy says. “We took the parts to the machinists in the shop, and they said, ‘Oh yeah. We can have that done in an hour.’”

Russ Sauer and Tim Weaver, both senior machinists in UI Health Care’s Medical Instruments Shop, have always embraced how their creativity and ingenuity can indirectly help patients through the instruments they produce.

“Our job can be very fulfilling,” Weaver says. “We get to use some creative juices to help people with their projects and to keep things moving.”

Tim Weaver designs, develops, and tests custom equipment in the Medical Instruments Shop.

Kind of like a hidden treasure trove, the Medical Instruments Shop is tucked away in a part of the main campus basement. It’s filled with heavy machinery as well as a myriad of tools and gadgets, some of them produced right in the shop where they reside.

You can find the machinists making everything from a unique holder for test tubes in a research lab to a unique apparatus they designed that helps move patients. They’ve even been sought out by other institutions, designing and producing equipment as far as California.

“These gentlemen have doctors, nursing staff, just all different types of our employees come to them and ask for custom pieces,” Dlouhy says. “They not only machine, but they also weld, they bend, they are metal fabricators. They are worth their weight in gold.”

Sauer and Weaver were able to produce the parts needed to allow the OR doors to function normally as well as improving the design so that the wear on the parts would be minimal. They did it quickly and efficiently, alleviating the headaches of supply chain issues and saving the organization nearly $8,000.

“Just being able to help somebody, especially someone who’s helping patients, it gives me a lot of self-satisfaction,” Sauer says.

Dlouhy says he’s incredibly proud of the level of collaboration between the teams and he couldn’t have imagined a better outcome for the situation. Now, he hopes more people with UI Health Care will turn to the Medical Instruments Shop for help when faced with a problem that may not have an obvious solution.

“It’s amazing when you can mesh two teams together and find a way that works that maybe you hadn’t thought of,” Dlouhy says. “I tell my team all the time that if we have issues, we’ll resolve them as a team and move on, as a team.”  

I have used Medical Instruments many times over the years and have always been so impressed with their care, timeliness, and especially the quality of their products!

Great story. Loved it. Strong work everyone.

In the best way, this is the most “Iowa” story I’ve seen. Loved it.

This is such a great story. Kudos to those who collaborated and made it happen.

What a great story! Thanks to all involved for their ingenuity and teamwork!

I have used their help for over 40 years. They have help us countless times saving money and time for us in Radiology Engineering. A true asset in time of need.

I, too, have utilized Med Instruments shop many times. They are a must if you are an operations manager – just an awesome resource: awesome tools and a top tier group of problem solvers. They provide solutions to just about any hardware problem and can fabricate practically anything to make items work better. One of the best resources at UIHC in my opinion. Great story!

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