HCA Northwest Medical Center Bed Tower Expansion
HCA Northwest Medical Center Bed Tower Expansion | Margate, FL
DPR leveraged prefabrication, self-perform capabilities and strong collaboration and engagement with its trade partners to deliver a complex vertical expansion project at Northwest Medical Center in south Florida, completing the project under budget and three weeks ahead of schedule in April 2020.
Constructed on top of an existing two-story facility, the new 107,000-sq.-ft., two-story tower added a total of 61 beds, including 22 CCU beds, six NICU beds and 33 medical/surgical beds. The project also included a two-story central energy plant (CEP) comprising two generators, two new and one relocated chillers, two new cooling towers, new medical gas equipment and more.
Prefabrication and Self-Perform
Prefabrication played a major role in the project’s success, shaving a total of 87 days from the schedule. This allowed DPR to dry in the building much faster – a major goal when building on top of an existing facility. The exterior wall panels were all prefabricated as well as approximately 40 percent of the interior walls and other components, including headwalls, footwalls, sinkwalls and bathrooms. “We did a schedule and cost analysis for the prefab exterior option and determined instead of three months to get the skin on the building, it would only take about three weeks,” commented superintendent Daniel Berger. “That was definitely a game changer.”
Another driver of the project’s success was DPR’s deliberate approach to field engagement with its trade partners, building a sense of community and ownership in the project from the outset by co-locating trades side by side with DPR personnel on-site and encouraging a “one team” mentality.
DPR’s self-perform crews executed several scopes of work, including drywall and interior framing, which improved safety, productivity and accuracy and helped the team more effectively control the project schedule.
The
Challenges
The project required extensive coordination with the fully operational facility for all shutdowns and tie-ins that were required to bring the new bed tower and CEP online. DPR had to ensure there were no unplanned outages and that all equipment was 100% operational before switching it over, a particularly challenging multi-phased process for the CEP equipment. Noise mitigation was a continual concern, requiring constant communication with the owner to avoid impacting patients and staff as construction took place on top of an active facility and systems were tied into the structure below.
Photo: The project required extensive coordination with the fully operational facility for all shutdowns and tie-ins that were required to bring the new bed tower and CEP online.
One major hurdle involved “jumping” an operating room air handler unit. Conducted over a weekend after extensive preplanning, crews removed the existing 40-ft.-long air handler from the OR and then connected the new one in the expanded space, all while ensuring zero impact to the operational facility.
Photo: Prefabrication played a major role in the project’s success, shaving a total of 87 days from the schedule.
The
Challenges
The project required extensive coordination with the fully operational facility for all shutdowns and tie-ins that were required to bring the new bed tower and CEP online. DPR had to ensure there were no unplanned outages and that all equipment was 100% operational before switching it over, a particularly challenging multi-phased process for the CEP equipment. Noise mitigation was a continual concern, requiring constant communication with the owner to avoid impacting patients and staff as construction took place on top of an active facility and systems were tied into the structure below.
Photo: The project required extensive coordination with the fully operational facility for all shutdowns and tie-ins that were required to bring the new bed tower and CEP online.
One major hurdle involved “jumping” an operating room air handler unit. Conducted over a weekend after extensive preplanning, crews removed the existing 40-ft.-long air handler from the OR and then connected the new one in the expanded space, all while ensuring zero impact to the operational facility.
Photo: Prefabrication played a major role in the project’s success, shaving a total of 87 days from the schedule.
The
Solutions
Prefabricating large components of this project, from the exterior panels to a major portion of the interior walls and bathrooms, was a major solution that helped the project achieve largescale schedule savings and allowed DPR to dry-in the building much more quickly. Prior to dry-in, DPR worked closely with trade partners each day to proactively address and mitigate potential areas of water intrusion into the building.
Photo: Prior to dry-in, DPR worked closely with trade partners each day to proactively address and mitigate potential areas of water intrusion into the building.
DPR’s intentional efforts surrounding field engagement with key trade partners also helped drive the project’s success. Co-located with the DPR team on-site, they became members of one unified team, according to superintendent Daniel Berger.
Photo: DPR’s intentional efforts surrounding field engagement with key trade partners also helped drive the project’s success.
“We got to know everybody on a personal basis and just tried to create a huge sense of community on this job,” he said. “We wanted everybody to feel like they had a high degree of ownership. The level of quality and our strong safety record reflected the benefit of that approach.”
Photo: The project also included a two-story central energy plant (CEP) comprising two generators, two new and one relocated chillers, two new cooling towers, new medical gas equipment and more.
The
Solutions
Prefabricating large components of this project, from the exterior panels to a major portion of the interior walls and bathrooms, was a major solution that helped the project achieve largescale schedule savings and allowed DPR to dry-in the building much more quickly. Prior to dry-in, DPR worked closely with trade partners each day to proactively address and mitigate potential areas of water intrusion into the building.
Photo: Prior to dry-in, DPR worked closely with trade partners each day to proactively address and mitigate potential areas of water intrusion into the building.
DPR’s intentional efforts surrounding field engagement with key trade partners also helped drive the project’s success. Co-located with the DPR team on-site, they became members of one unified team, according to superintendent Daniel Berger.
Photo: DPR’s intentional efforts surrounding field engagement with key trade partners also helped drive the project’s success.
“We got to know everybody on a personal basis and just tried to create a huge sense of community on this job,” he said. “We wanted everybody to feel like they had a high degree of ownership. The level of quality and our strong safety record reflected the benefit of that approach.”
Photo: The project also included a two-story central energy plant (CEP) comprising two generators, two new and one relocated chillers, two new cooling towers, new medical gas equipment and more.
The
Results
Completed in April 2020, the Northwest Medical Center Bed Tower project finished under budget and three weeks ahead of the original schedule.
Photo: DPR’s self-perform crews executed several scopes of work, including drywall and interior framing, which improved safety, productivity and accuracy and helped the team more effectively control the project schedule.
The
Results
Completed in April 2020, the Northwest Medical Center Bed Tower project finished under budget and three weeks ahead of the original schedule.
Photo: DPR’s self-perform crews executed several scopes of work, including drywall and interior framing, which improved safety, productivity and accuracy and helped the team more effectively control the project schedule.
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