For Immediate Service
800-864-7717
For Immediate Service
800-864-7717Apr
16
2020
Today, healthcare leaders around the world are making critical decisions to fight the spread of COVID-19. Where can they purchase ventilators? Do their frontline professionals have enough PPE? How are they going to safely care for hundreds of patients in their overcrowded rooms?
Many hospitals will need to convert or expand their care facilities. Leaders don’t have time for delays and need innovative solutions to their construction questions. Healthcare leaders need all parties – owner, architect, general contractor, and subcontractors – to streamline the process.
Design-build is the most effective way to bring about this early collaboration. Keith Prather, a market intelligence expert for business management consulting firm Pioneer IQ, expanded on this point in an April 2 article published in Construction Dive magazine.
"The design-build process was made for this," Prather told the magazine. "No one is operating alone, everyone has several different teammates they can pull from."
Through this one-point-of-contact model, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) subcontractors can provide a wealth of insight from experience. This is critical during fast-tracked projects during a crisis. On complex projects, especially those requiring isolation, decontamination, and negative-air-pressure rooms, it’s crucial to include a subcontractor in the design process.
By far the most important advantage, a design-build arrangement allows for innovation and discussion. Constructability reviews are critical; these projects don’t have time for lengthy rework. The projects also require creative engineering solutions. Today’s MEP subcontractors often employ dozens of engineers that can help bridge the gap between architectural intent and constructability review. With these highly skilled minds involved, problems can be solved in hours, not weeks.
Projections are constantly changing, and these design teams need to be ready to offer new solutions on a moment’s notice. As alternative designs are discussed, it’s important to have all companies working quickly to find solutions to medical requirements.
Every complex project benefits from planning. This planning phase does take time, but once everyone is aligned on the goals of the project, the construction schedule often flows faster. According to a joint study by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Florida, design-build construction schedules are 36 percent faster than design-bid-build and 13 percent faster than construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR). Even better, schedule growth is 1.7 percent faster than design-bid-build, and 3.9 percent faster than CMAR.
Hospital leaders don’t know how long this pandemic will last, nor the length of time the additional capacity will be needed. They cannot afford to wait on a solution.
The most important, but often overlooked key, in successfully solving a crisis is communication. Having everyone in one group makes a few things clear: the owner’s project objectives, each group’s role, and a better understanding of the overall plan. Having this clarity is a key advantage for subcontractors.
During this uncertain time, design-build can be one of the best ways to quickly and efficiently construct or convert temporary spaces. TDIndustries is actively sourcing equipment today, making sure projects are ready to go as soon as possible.
Categories: design-build COVID19
TDIndustries is a premier facilities services and mechanical construction company. Founded in 1946, we are well-positioned to exceed customers’ expectations on any project regardless of size, complexity, within budget and on time.