Name: DPR Construction
Price range: $

The project included the demolition of two existing ORs, an existing abandoned endoscopy suite, pathology department and surgery locker room area. Demolition made room for three new ORs, one new hybrid OR, a new pathology department and new surgery locker room space.

It also included the addition of a new air handling unit to the first floor roof to serve two of the new ORs, the hybrid OR and three existing cardiovascular ORs. The team installed new mechanical infrastructure above the existing cardiovascular ORs to re-feed them from the new air handling unit.

The team performed the renovation in the adjacent same-day surgery area and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) to provide flex bay overflow for the PACU department. The same-day surgery renovation included removing an existing corridor to provide four new bays for that department.

18 Phases, Two Shifts
The logistical constraints involved with working within a fully-operational OR created many project-specific challenges. To maintain daily operations of the surgery department without disruption, the team split the project into 18 major phases and ran two shifts throughout the project’s duration to keep the noisy work limited to off-hours. The team used communication strategies including planning boards, daily priority lists and shift overlap throughout the construction timeline. This kept communication strong between the two shifts, ensuring the right people had the right information at the right time.

The team performed extensive research of existing systems to identify impacts and properly plan shutdowns to the facility, which was critical on this project. By engaging trade partners and the facilities team early on in the project, the team was able to identify key shutdowns to help reduce the impact to the fully-functioning campus.

Safety
DPR’s outstanding safety record on the project was a result of collaborative and focused efforts by all parties. Training requirements and expectations were reviewed at preconstruction and the team developed and implemented a site-specific safety plan through a mandatory safety orientation for each employee in the field. Through daily “huddles,” the team also reviewed pre-task planning. If deficiencies were discovered, re-training was offered immediately or the team developed a plan to execute the task safely.

Additionally, the team rewarded “above and beyond” individual safety and quality work habits at the mass safety meetings, recognizing foremen for having a top-notch safety compliance record and exemplifying a real commitment to a safe working environment and crew safety.