Roger, who has over 20 years’ project management experience including the development of health facilities such as the Dandenong Hospital Mental Health Redevelopment and Expansion and the Queens Hospital development in London, said that clients in the health sector are looking for time and cost effective solutions that minimise operational disruptions.
“Like other sectors, the health industry is facing rapid changes due to changes in technology, changing health delivery practises, increased demand as the population grows and cost pressures. A number of facilities are in the process of being redeveloped to cater for these requirements and strategic management can play a major role to ensure on time and on budget delivery.”
Roger said that future flexibility is one of the aspects that should be considered in the design of health facilities from an architectural and building services perspective to avoid restrictions to future layouts, reconfiguration and expansion of service while ensuring minimal disruption to ongoing clinical services.
“We’re seeing that medical equipment is increasingly becoming more powerful and interconnected, and hospital-wide systems more integrated, for example imaging, medical records and pathology. There is also an increase in clinical monitoring at the bed side and this is resulting in the need for larger communications rooms and larger bandwidths to cater for the higher flow of data across the network.”
Diligence in equipment procurement
Procurement of medical equipment is another key area that requires diligence in managing cost, time and project interface matters, explains Roger. “Budgets for equipment should be clearly distinct from the main capital works budget.
“Care needs to be exercised in the establishment and management of these separate budgets to be clear about where the capital works budget finishes and where the equipment budget starts to prevent double ups or gaps, for example, equipment contingency allowances or allowances for equipment installation costs.”
Roger stresses that adequate time needs to be allowed to specify and procure equipment to allow installation and commissioning in time for the main building completion and handover. Timing considerations need to also consider the likely technological advancements in medical equipment within the timeframes of the project.
“New and improved equipment is under development or hitting the market all the time, making superseded technology less desirable and cheaper. The later a decision is made for a particular piece of equipment, the more likely a newer and more functionally superior option will be available.
“This is a very real scenario in major hospital redevelopments that could span over four years. The program for specification, procurement and selection of medical equipment needs to interface with both design and construction programs to ensure the timely integration of equipment and the completion of the project.
“It is also essential to consider specific equipment interface requirements with the building fabric such as building services (power, data and medical gases) and structural implications.”
Future proofing
The combination of factors such as limited options for expansion, risks of operational disruption associated with working around health facilities and the rapid pace of change in hospital environments highlights the significance of future proofing within the context of health projects.
While future flexibility can address likely but not specific future changes in a development, future proofing is a strategic means of making a provision within the current design for a known redevelopment in the future.
“Future proofing is a way to ensure that future redevelopments are in line with the site master plan or some anticipated future investment for equipment or new facility. However, it has to pass a cost-benefit consideration.
“Benefits that are realised by a more cost effective and less operationally disruptive development in the future must outweigh the costs that the project bears today, for which no immediate gain is likely to be received. This approach is not always welcomed by some project sponsors therefore a sound business case needs to be mounted to clearly demonstrate the longer term benefits to the facility.
“Future proofing measures can vary widely in their scope and cost. They can range from the provision of extra power and data outlets for a future anticipated piece of medical equipment through to the design and construction of additional structural capacity in a new building, which will enable future expansion.”
Environmentally sustainable initiatives
Well planned and executed environmentally sustainable initiatives have the potential to positively influence many aspects of a hospital’s operations.
Patients, staff, and facility owners and managers are the main stakeholders that can benefit from an increasing commitment from the public and private sectors to reducing their facilities’ carbon footprint.
“Architectural solutions to allow natural light and ventilation in staff and patient areas promote improved healing environments for patients and a better work environment for staff”, he said. “These simple measures lead to increased user satisfaction and ultimately improved productivity.
“From the facility owner’s perspective, hospitals are often of a size, scale and complexity to significantly benefit from environmentally sustainable design initiatives incorporated within the building fabric. These can translate into very real savings in ongoing operational and maintenance costs.
“However, these initiatives should be defined early in the project between the owner, stakeholders, project manager and design team to ensure they are embedded within the design at the very beginning of the project for maximum effect and greatest potential return on investment.”
Media contacts
Diana Krause, Global Manager External Communications, Coffey
T: +61 3 9473 1300; M: +61 420 959 942; E: diana_krause@coffey.com
