DPR Accelerates Delivery on OSHPD-Regulated Projects in Sacramento, Completes Ground-Up MOB in Petaluma, CA

A restroom accessibility upgrade two-and-a-half years ago at Kaiser Permanente’s Morse Avenue Hospital in Sacramento has led to more than 31 projects, totaling some $31 million and varying in complexity and scope for the healthcare provider in the surrounding area.

“The projects that DPR has been working on for us range from very simple to extremely complicated, especially those within the hospital,” said Robert O’Hare, project manager for Kaiser. “I often say that ‘they are the largest small projects you’ve ever seen,’ and DPR’s smarter, faster, better approach is exactly what we need at the facility. DPR can build the large buildings and then change their thinking to provide smarter and faster solutions for those small, difficult spaces.”

One example that O’Hare provided was the recent completion of an Emergency Department expansion. DPR converted an adjacent space to accommodate 12 additional emergency room beds. The day before the expansion was to be turned over for occupancy a physician walked through and said that a door needed to be added to close off an alcove in the room. DPR worked through the night to make the change and the new area opened as planned.

“It’s all part of building in an operating hospital and having a team that understands the needs and requirements of the customer,” said Alan Schleiger of DPR. “Our job is to provide a safe, clean working environment and always do what’s best for the owner, which sometimes means stopping for a period of time or coming up with a solution to accelerate the schedule.”

Another important aspect of healthcare construction in California is maintaining good relationships with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). OSHPD serves as the building department for all hospitals and nursing homes throughout the state to ensure the safety of these facilities during event of an earthquake or other natural disasters.

“If it wasn’t for the field’s desire to know how to work within the confines of OSHPD, this project would not be such a success,” said O’Hare. “DPR has a good relationship with OSHPD field representation, and I’ve always found that they look beyond what’s in the drawings and realize that there are a lot of other things that go into building a building beyond the plans and specs.”

For a new 55,000-sq.-ft., ground-up medical office building for Kaiser in Petaluma, CA, DPR took a non-traditional, “around the track” approach to complete the project, including all of the interior improvements, in 11 months.

Once the majority of the shell was complete, rather than treating it as one building for the interior build-out, DPR broke the facility into five equal areas—A, B, C, D, E—and developed a color-coded schedule for each space for greater efficiency and control. Each subcontractor received floor plans and the schedule prior to construction start. The team also held a kick-off meeting to discuss the program.

“Everyone started at the same point and followed suit. Framers started in A and when they were done, moved to B. All of the subcontractors moved sequentially throughout the building—like they were running laps in the same direction,” said Jerry McKinley of DPR. “This approach also allowed us to walk the architect and owner through each area when it was finished. Five weeks before the job was complete, we started the final walkthrough of section A.”

Breaking the building into sections also helped in managing the owner-supplied equipment. Rather than having all of the equipment delivered on site at one time, the detailed schedule specified what equipment was needed on a particular day for each space.

“The overall process was extremely effective and saved a lot of time,” said McKinley.

“If it wasn’t for the field’s desire to know how to work within the confines of OSHPD, this project would not be such a success. DPR has a good relationship with OSHPD field representation, and I’ve always found that they look beyond what’s in the drawings and realize that there are a lot of other things that go into building a building beyond the plans and specs.”
-Robert O’Hare, Project Manager for Kaiser Permanente