News

­­In our last Your Space issue, we told you about our exciting plans to develop a fourth archiving facility. With the building having commenced, we would like to take you for a virtual look inside the warehouse so we can tell you a little more about the innovations we will use to manage the archive.

Paul Webber tells us more:

“Having now broken ground on the project using local contractors, I can talk to you a bit more about Autostore, a state-of-the-art robotic storage system which will be fitted inside the new building. Autostore provides high-density storage giving us more capacity and is hyper-secure because you can’t access it without a robot. It is efficient for picking and can preload recalled specimens onto the picking system. This means if we know what recalls are coming along it will line them up and pick them up automatically with an operator supervising. The eventual vision is that this hardware can be linked into the CellTrak software so when a customer is recalling material from the Autostore matrix then the robot can start picking and preparing it. This will save us having to go to the material and instead will see the material brought to us. The current process can be quite intensive in terms of labour and logistics and collecting material, this new system would mean we will be working more efficiently. The Autostore system is modular so it is very flexible and adaptable to whatever space we have. We can even choose to fit one portion of the warehouse with the system, to begin with, and then expand our installation as more material is collected. We have worked out that when the warehouse is completely fitted out with Autostore we can archive over 130 million additional blocks on top of our existing capacity. Most importantly, the new system will integrate well with the CellNass team. In the same building, we will also be having a new staff canteen for our whole workforce as well as additional office space. Once again, we would like to thank our customers for their continued support, and we look forward to inviting you to visit us!” 

 

 

At the time of writing, the number of cases and risk of exposure in the UK is gaining speed, and CellPath is taking necessary precautions to ensure we are best prepared and protected as the situation develops.

CellNass Uplifts

We have taken the difficult decision to cease material uplifts until further notice. We hope you can understand the reasons behind us taking this decision but believe it to be the responsible thing to do to help ensure the safety of both our staff, their families and our customers and their families.

Material Recalls

At the current time, there are no changes to this service. Recall logistics are done through TNT, and should they advise us about service disruptions, we will, of course, keep you updated.                                                                            

The company has also introduced several company-wide initiatives in response to government advice.

This week, we have introduced remote working for our staff where possible and issued advice to staff recommending compliance with the most up-to-date government information, beginning with frequent hand washing and containing coughs or sneezes

We have manufactured our own ‘Alcoholic Hand Sanitiser’ to the World Health Organisation formula and issued to operational staff onsite.

We are also asking staff to advise us of their personal overseas travel plans to ensure they follow the most recent advice for the country they return from. This includes the company advising self-isolation as appropriate.

Business travel within the UK will be subject to tighter restrictions with staff requested to use digital conferencing facilities instead of face-to-face meetings whenever possible. Hospitals which we need to visit to conduct CellNass operations will be sent a questionnaire to allow us to identify the risk posed by the visit. At this time, we will also be minimising the number of invitations we extend to visitors to CellPath.

All overseas travel is cancelled until further notice with all members of staff back home.

CellPath would like to remind customers that we are a British-based manufacturer, sourcing the majority of components from within the United Kingdom (UK). We have extended our operational manufacturing hours to ensure our stock levels of key product lines are high. Where we source the few components from outside the UK, recent investment in new warehousing facilities has allowed us to implement a plan to increase stock holdings. We hope that this will ensure the continuous and timely supply of products to our customers.

We thank you for your patience and cooperation as we endeavour to protect our workforce, customers and their respective wider families. We will continue to monitor developments and government advice and will issue further updates if our circumstances change.

The demand for CellNass services has continued to grow in 2018 as new and existing customers make the decision to store more of their valuable materials with us. To accommodate demand, we are expanding our premises once again here in Newtown, Mid Wales. This will be our 4th and largest build over the last 12 years.

 

Our new CellNass facility will be twice the height of our existing buildings. At the moment, we use several different methods to make the most of our available space. We are currently exploring newly developed innovations which we plan to apply to this next development.

 

Two of our team recently visited Germany to attend a conference which introduced us to the latest developments in space management. Whichever method we use, there will be plenty of space for our customers.

 

Though it is always difficult to tie down a timeline, we are looking for completion in approximately 12 months. We have the plans, the designs and the planning permission so we are looking forward to moving in this time next year.

 

Paul Webber, Joint Managing Director, is looking forward to new and exciting techniques. In Paul's words:

"We know how important this service is for our customers and we are keen to make sure that we are always able to provide for them. We want to keep our customers happy and in order to meet demand, and deliver the service expected, we need more archiving space. We're keen to be more efficient, whilst always improving our standards".

CellNass are now able to loan out SmartStor 2 and SmartStor 8 cabinets, free of charge to our customers on contracts of 3 years or more, further evolving our archive management solution.

Both the SmartStor 2 and SmartStor 8 storage cabinets have been specifically designed to maximise the number of slides and/or blocks they hold, and provide numerous benefits to customers including:

Cost savings: By using SmartStor cabinets, customers no longer need to purchase their own. Releasing further space within hospitals: Using the CellNass solution results in less cabinets being required onsite. This is due to both the SmartStor 2 and SmartStor 8 cabinets being able to accommodate CellNass SmartStor slide and block archiving boxes, which when full, can simply be taken out of the cabinets, and transferred to the CellNass facility and simply placed with a new SmartStor box. Greater flexibility and leaner operations: Rather than having to place slides and blocks directly into a metal cabinet, our solution allows users to remove the required SmartStor box and transport it to their workstation to add the relevant slides and blocks. When no longer required, the boxes are simply placed back into the cabinets until required again, eliminating the need for double handling and potential human error, whilst also freeing up valuable time. Negated risk: At the front of each cabinet drawer is a purpose-built slot which holds a new archive label, which is transferred onto each CellNass SmartStor box when full. This prevents the possibility of human error from duplication of labelling. Simplified Uplifts: As we would only need to pick up SmartStor boxes, the process is quicker, less disruptive and results in no pack-up fees.

 

If you are interested in trialling some cabinets on your site, please contact our customer care team on +44 (0)1686611333.

CellNass is pleased to announce that from January 2018, we now provide as standard, all recall deliveries on a next day before noon service. We have also added a further option, allowing customers to order their recalled materials next day before 09:00 am in instances when this is required.

Through adopting pre-noon delivery as standard, our service will be further enhanced as it will allow CellNass to quickly learn of any potential late deliveries, assess the root-cause and provide a solution to customers all on the same day.

 

New Van Hits the Road

 

CellNass recently took delivery of a new van to meet the increased demand for our material recalls and uplifts. Keep an eye out for it. We will wave back!

 

 

Introducing Vehicle Tracking

 

Early 2018 has seen CellNass install a state-of-the-art vehicle tracking software system into our fleet, bringing with it a number of key benefits.

The main reason we decided to fit a tracking system was enhanced security. Due to the very important nature of the materials we transport around the country, it is hugely important for us to update customers on when to expect CellNass at their site, a service some of our customers have asked from us.

Finally, incorporation of vehicle tracking consolidates the safe driving behaviours of our employees, ensuring speed limits are adhered to at all times, amongst other safe practices.

 

 

Some of the CellNass Team

Back row from left to right: Simon Wheatley, Peter Owen, Beata Majcher and Izabela Kalakowska

Front row from left to right: Louise Alexander, Lauren Jackson, Rob Jackson, Rachel Harbon and Nicola Davies