Sturdy Memorial Hospital | Medical Office Building | Attleboro, MA

A local framing and drywall superintendent and a project manager from DPR’s Southeast self-perform (SPW) drywall crew assisted the growing Boston SPW team with the framing, drywall, and taping scopes of work on the project. This included training and guidance—working together to implement best practices. In one month, the team framed out the entire interior of the building and began the installation of the exterior framing. SPW also completed the door and specialties scopes on the project. SPW delivered unparalleled cooperation and integration into the project. The customer was impressed with DPR’s ability to swiftly mobilize a crew after COVID-19 impacted the procurement of a framing/drywall contractor. Utilizing SPW, the team was able to balance and forecast manpower appropriately through the different phases of scope.

To keep the Sturdy Memorial stakeholders informed, weekly reports were generated which included progress photos, work completed that week, productivity trackers, etc. This gave the stakeholders a snapshot into the status of the project to relay to others. The weekly reports also built excitement in the delivery of the new building.

Building information modeling (BIM) was used for all MEP coordination on the project and assisted in identifying potential issues that needed to be mitigated. The project team worked hand-in-hand with our trade partners to model each scope of work. By modeling the scopes, the team was able to identify and mitigate clashes virtually before any work was installed in the field. Through BIM, the team identified potential RFIs such as roof drain locations to ensure they would not interfere with steel beams, columns, and MEP shafts. This early model development allowed the team to shift the duct shafts, confirming the quantity and location of each necessary roof penetrations for the RTUs, before work started onsite.

With quality top of mind for the new space, a distinguishing features of work (DFOW) plan was implemented for physical therapy and the lobby stairs, the centerpieces of the design. The project team generated a working document outlining the quality standards and installation procedures for those scopes. The trade partner laser scanned the newly built lobby stairs to ensure glass handrails were built correctly the first time within tight tolerances. Additionally, mock-ups for specific scopes, including the exterior panels and exam rooms, were developed to ensure quality in the materials, layout, and sequence of work.

With the project mobilizing only months before the COVID-19 outbreak became a global pandemic, the project was challenged every step of the way through completion. The hospital faced an immediate need for N-95 masks to protect their health care workers combating the virus. DPR coordinated with the trade partners to supply the much-needed PPE. DPR ultimately provided Sturdy Memorial with an additional 100 N-95 masks and set up a temperature screening tent at the main hospital within 24-hours of the hospital asking for help.

The project faced numerous unforeseeable challenges as the pandemic continued. Manufacturing of critical materials and supply-chain impacts continually challenged the schedule. The curtain wall and metal panel systems were impacted the most with factory shutdowns. To minimize impacts to the project schedule, the project team directed SPW to develop an enclosure system for the building to provide a path forward to start the interior finishes.

The team built strong relationships with the town’s building department which was critical to keeping the project going. Inspectors worked with DPR to provide proper documentation in a non-traditional way to demonstrate the work met the building department’s standards. The team also leveraged foremen and their relationships with their respective systems’ inspectors to maintain momentum.