Posted on: 8.4.2009 9:41:48 AM Posted by John Herman
I’ve written a lot about retrofitting and remodeling
existing facilities to maximize the space. Now I want to share with you some of
the tips we give our clients about staying open while your facility is under
construction.
Have a Plan
Before beginning your upgrade, sit down with the contractor
and make sure there is a phasing plan in place to minimize construction
disruption. Include your staff in the planning process: get input from each
department about the phasing schedule.
During a retrofit or remodel, you’ll also need to understand
costs and timetables. Projects like these usually take longer because the
facility is staying open. For example, barriers will be erected to keep dust,
noise and worker traffic at a minimum through patient areas. Depending on the
scope of the project, think about patient and staff parking, wayfinding, HIPAA
rules and regulations, privacy and the easiest ways to facilitate any needs to
re-routing during the project.
To help control costs throughout the project, make sure
things stay on track and on target. Realize that it will be uncomfortable for a
while, but focus on the end of the project and what you’re going to achieve.
Off-Peak Work
Another way to speed up your project is to consider working off
hours and weekends. The higher cost of off-peak work may be a good payoff in
terms of shortening the timeframe and minimizing disruption in key areas. And,
with the economy squeezing the construction industry right now, you may be able
to find workers to work during off-hours for little or no increase in cost.
Communication is
Key
The most important thing to remember if you decide to stay
open during construction is to communicate with your patients and staff. This
can be done through signage, wayfinding and messages for the key audiences your
team comes in contact with. Apologize for the inconvenience; tell them what
you’re doing, when you’re doing it and why. Focus on the positive things that
will come from this upgrade. People tend to be much more understanding if
they’re kept in the loop.
Your posting about staying open during construction is very thoughtful from a contractor’s perspective. I think what is more important is to remember that we are working in a facility that is a taking care of people and is a business generating revenue. We must look at phasing from the Owner’s perspective and consider things like phasing around clinical capacity to not disrupt their volumes, looking at the impact of phasing on patients and their satisfaction. When you discuss having a phasing plan to minimize disruption for the project, the development of that plan is critical. It goes beyond just including staff, but rather into working with the hospital to understand their work processes to ensure they don’t lose clinical capacity (or revenue) during the project and integrating the construction process with those operations. You mention wayfinding which is critical. There could be nothing worse than to have an ambulance or patient coming for an appointment and not knowing where to go. Hospitals can be sprawling and contractors need to work closely with the hospital to make sure people know where to go.
With respect to communication, you hit the nail on the head. It is crucial that communication be proactive about what to expect, when, and what the work-around is that will make the project go as smooth as possible for all involved. There are many different types of communication media that can be used today and working with the hospital to communicate timely in the most efficient and effective manner goes along way to maintaining patient satisfaction scores during a renovation.
The details here are correct however there is one major oversight as I see it. You mention meeting with the contractor to be sure the project is properly phased, but in reality it is the architect and design engineers who actually have the greatest ability to properly phase a project.
All too often architects design "static" solutions without considering implementation, and then engineers follow suit. By the time the contractor is involved, there is often little that can be done to make a design solution.
It is time we hold the health care architect prima donnas’ accountable. By the way, I am a health care architect prima donna.
