Watford General Hospital | GD Construction

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Watford General Hospital

Project Overview

Client

West Herts Trust

Start Date

13.05.2023

Finish Date

14.02.2024

Value

£1,400,000.00

Form of Contract

JCT

Project Description

The project consisted of the creation of a new plantroom within an existing Level 4 plantroom, the re-modelling and refurbishment of a new Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), the installation of a new AHU and associated ductwork and a full Mechanical and Electrical installation compromising IPS/UPS systems, smoke/fire dampers, Medical gases, Nurse call systems, data installation and so on.

The project was situated adjacent to live wards with a live ward also being beneath. Systems were adopted from GD Constructions safe systems of works to ensure that noise and vibration were kept to a minimum by using anti vibration technology tools and planning noisy works in at times which meant the disturbance was lessened.

A logistics plan was developed to ensure that deliveries were taken in at times where patient traffic was low and to ensure that no impact was had to the ambulance service – as there was an ambulance bay at the entrance to the building.

Throughout the project life cycle, materials removed from the demolition phase were salvaged and used where possible to remove the need to put items into landfill where this is not necessary. Also, materials procured for this project were from sustainable sources.

Planning and communication were key on this project due to the connections into the hospitals mechanical and electrical systems – maintaining a positive communication throughout assisted to ensure connections were made without impacting the hospital. A commissioning programme was developed to ensure that all the relevant people were offered to come to the site to witness all commissioning activities which will help the estates teams in their maintenance of the systems.

With the tight deadlines and complex project being across multiple floors, a site team was developed so that there was a contract manager, site manager and site assistant on this project at all times – this assisted when multiple changes to the design arose, and it meant that we were proactive in the responses to mitigate and minimise the impact to the programme.

Challenges Overcome

Multiple re-designs took place throughout this project with layouts being changed, room uses being changed, loaded plans being changed – these challenges were addressed by having all the relevant people on the site who were able to act quickly to changes and to mitigate the impact that these changes had on the programme.
Furniture plan designs on this project were difficult to obtain sign off. GDC brought in an independent company that they have worked alongside for many years who were able to complete 13nr changes/modifications/re-designs due to end users decisions. This challenge was made easier by having our own people on board who again were able to re-draw the plans with speed which again minimised the time period of items being re-drawn before being sent back for approval.
Deliveries and logistics for this project was a challenge due to the site complexities. The delivery way was an ambulance bay which meant GDC had to ensure no impact to the ambulance service. This meant lots of deliveries were completed out of hours, Large deliveries went to our own offices and only brought to site when needed to avoid the need of having large lorries parked on site unloading for long periods of time.
Crane lift of AHU – This challenge was addressed primarily with being heavily involved with the lifting plan, drafting exclusion plans and liaising with the project team in regards to timeframes etc. it was also agreed that the works would need to take place over a weekend to minimise the disruption to patients.