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Application of LSCM’s Technologies in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme
In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020, LSCM has been working devotedly to support the Government of the HKSAR in its initiatives to contain the spread of the disease with our various technologies. Last year, our electronic wristband for the StayHomeSafe system was extensively used in Hong Kong to ensure that the persons under quarantine were staying in their dwelling places. Later in the year, our location tracking technologies were applied in the Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) to secure the delivery, distribution and collection of the specimen collection boxes among the Community Testing Centres, laboratories and warehouses. And our inventory management system was deployed to manage the stock and delivery of the Universal Transport Medium (UTM). This year, we again utilise our latest technologies to support the Government in its COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, which is the very first large-scale Vaccination Programme in Hong Kong.
As the expiration deadline of the COVID-19 vaccines is tight, the time control and management of its delivery and usage is crucial. For this reason, technologies which can ensure the security of the delivery processes and provide various real-time and traceable information would be helpful. We thus developed a real-time vaccine inventory control and management system and location tracking technologies to oversee the delivery, inventory control and order planning of the vaccines. Our e-Lock system, which was developed in collaboration with the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department to monitor and safeguard the security of the transhipment cargo by the Hong Kong Customs and Mainland Customs is also deployed in this Vaccination Programme to secure the transportation of the vaccines from the warehouses to the Community Vaccination Centres (CVC). The e-Lock is used to lock the truck doors of the delivery trucks and the system is able to track the real-time location of the trucks. The transportation of the vaccines can be monitored via an online platform. An alert will be triggered if there is any anomaly, e.g. if the e-Lock is tampered or the geofencing is violated. Besides the track-and-trace of the vaccines during transportation, LSCM also offers a system to help keeping track of the usage of the vaccines. Labels with QR codes are affixed to the vaccine vials and syringes during the dispensing and re-constitution processes for easy tracing using the handheld devices. Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is also applied to make records of the distribution, collection and usage of the vaccines. And the vaccine inventory control and management system enables the staff to monitor the inventory and arrange the ordering of the vaccines to ensure that adequate vaccines are available in each CVC daily.
LSCM has also developed a cloud-based platform for the Enrolled Healthcare Service Providers (EHCPs) and Visiting Medical Officers (VMOs) to place orders on the vaccines and to report their vaccine usage. With the application of Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics and visualisation, data interoperability technology, various location tracking technologies and GPS technology, our various systems are able to speed up and secure the delivery of the vaccines, and enhance the efficiency of the Vaccination Programme.
This shows that the logistics technologies that LSCM developed can be deployed in different occasions to cater for the needs of different industries and communities. And LSCM will continue to provide assistance in the combat against COVID-19 with our expertise and technologies.
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