The full treatment

Diehard Liverpool fans may remember Broadgreen as the place where former boss Gerard Houllier received his lifesaving emergency heart surgery back in 2001. This time round though, it’s the hospital itself that’s been given a new lease of life, with a new diagnostic and treatment centre that includes a pioneering open-plan ‘barn’ theatre, plus departments of urology, orthopaedics and general surgery.

Emcor has recently completed the final handover on the innovative NHS Procure21 project, a £22 million m&e contract secured as part of the scheme’s Principal Supply Chain Partnership. The work, which began in October 2003, was completed on time and significantly within budget. Emcor’s design manager, Ken Lewis, explains: “Originally, there were more than 20 handovers planned, but we put our heads together with Norwest Holst Construction, the main contractor, and managed to get it down to seven. We share our offices, so there’s no ‘us and them’, as there might normally be. We’ve been working together, which is great.” Although the project was a design and build, m&e consultant Hully and Kirkwood was also employed due to its specialist nature.

A high level of collaboration with the client was a key benefit to the partnering contract. “The biggest difference is that we were able to get around the table with the client a lot earlier,” says Ken. “We could co-operate on innovations a lot more easily, because we could ask what their values were at the design stage, rather than waiting until it’s too late.”

One of the major challenges was the barn theatre, which features Ultra-clean ventilation canopies above the adjacent operating tables to tackle the increased risk of infection associated with this type of shared space. “What you’ve got here is the first such theatre to be built in more than a decade,” explains Ken. “There are only two others in the country. With the Ultra-clean, the client knew very early on that this was the way they were thinking, but they weren’t sure how to deliver it. The trail had gone a bit cold after ten years, but we tracked the company down and brought them round the table. Because we were involved early, we were able to contribute to that exchange of information.”

A collaborative package called 4 Projects was chosen for the planning stage. The software improves the project management process by providing a comprehensive toolset for online collaboration, document control and information management. Unlike e-mail, the 4Projects solution is secure and allows for full auditing of the progress of any project. In an independent survey, respondents said average drawing approval times were reduced by 26%.

However, Ken believes the use of IT could have been taken even further. “We are already using more 3D on other current projects, but I guess what it comes down to is that you can only take on so much newness at once. Some of the technical solutions we used, in particularly the off-site manufacturing, required a lot more detailed drawing, so there are a lot of new processes there, and to tackle another one would have given us indigestion. But certainly, 3D’s the place to be.” Emcor is certainly proactive when it comes to seeking out pioneering technologies. “Today’s innovation is tomorrow’s anachronism,” says Ken. “You might think you've got it, but in five years’ time, perhaps not. Your competitors are finding better ways all the time. You can never stand still.”

Prefabricated solutions were used extensively throughout the project, with off-site assembled bedhead trunking, pre-wired three phase distribution boards and offsite manufactured, multi-service modules, supplied complete with pipework and cable tray. The advantages are numerous. “The Trust always wants jobs delivering on time, if not ahead of time,” says Ken. “This approach is quicker, and it saves a lot on deliveries and materials, so it’s good for the local neighbourhood. It’s a sustainable solution if you like. For the first time at Emcor, we’ve had distribution boards manufactured off site, so there are far fewer field connections. That quickened things up and helped to make things right the first time. By being able to test products somewhere else, you’re reducing the risk of having problems later on.

Pre-assembly keeps down on-site labour as well, a factor that Emcor had to consider carefully. “In this day and age, it’s very difficult to get skilled labour. There weren’t many Poles around when we started the project,” explains Ken. “But it’s also about safety,” he adds. “The less activity on site, the safer it is. It’s not just about heights, it’s also about handling substances and drills, oils and compounds. Solutions such as the pre-assembled bedhead trunking save on costs, but even if prefab is cost neutral, it’s worth doing.”

However, the multi-service off-site manufactured modules did throw up a few challenges with regards to co-ordinating work, and Emcor had to work through a detailed installation methodology with Norwest Holst. “Everyone’s got to be pushing the same way,” says Ken. “Things have to be built in the right order, as with this being a hospital, there are lots of small rooms and partitions. If some are built before you have access, you can’t manoeuvre your module in – bear in mind, these things are three or six metres long. You need close programming with the contractors and subcontractors. We had a learning curve. We can’t say it went perfectly, but when you have the right spirit of co-operation – when you’re sharing the benefits financially – it makes a lot of difference. There’s something in it for everybody.”