For its Waterford, Conn., Cancer Center, a comprehensive treatment facility affiliated with Dana-Farber Community Cancer Care, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital decided to try something new: true three-party Integrated Project Delivery.
The contractual agreement covered L+M, architecture/engineering firm TRO JB, and construction manager Suffolk Construction, with programming, design, and construction all informed by Lean principles.
To further extend the collaborative theme, this three-party project management team invited three trade partners to participate in an incentive compensation layer, involving a pool consisting of at-risk potential profits.
TRO JB, Suffolk, and three handpicked HVAC/plumbing, electrical, and site work subs would participate in the ICL. If the project came in over budget or exceeded the schedule, the ICL profit pool would be tapped to pay the penalties. If the facility came in under budget or ahead of schedule, the ICL group would get the profit pool plus 50% of the savings, with the hospital pocketing the remaining savings.
Bronze Award
Project SummaryLawrence + Memorial Hospital Cancer Center
Waterford, Conn.BUILDING TEAM
Submitting firm: Suffolk Construction (GC/CM)
Owner/developer: Lawrence + Memorial Hospital
Architect, MEP/FP: TRO JB
Structural: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Civil: DiCesare-Bentley EngineersGENERAL INFORMATION
Project size: 47,000 sf
Construction cost: $24 million (IPD contract value $34.5 million)
Construction period: May 2012 to September 2013
Delivery method: Tri-party integrated project delivery
Early collaboration on the design, schedule, budget, and quality goals was a must for making the plan work. Using 3P (Production Preparation Process) Lean design and pull planning tools, the Building Team was able to make key decisions efficiently. Input from about 70 Cancer Center stakeholders—including administration, medical staff, support staff, patient advocates, and partners from Dana-Farber—was solicited in an intense three-day 3P charrette, which resulted in schematic draft floor plans.
Only minor changes were needed after this point, testifying to the effectiveness of the event. (The most significant contract alteration, requested by L+M as a value-added item, was a geothermal well field system that will pay for itself in just a few years.)
A co-location center set up in two of L+M’s hospital conference rooms was made available to the Building Team for the duration of the project. This home base proved crucial to ensuring efficient communication and also provided a convenient setting for stakeholder evaluation of mockups.
As a result of the collaborative efforts, the overall project schedule was reduced by six months, and the facility came in $1.2 million under budget. Actual construction was completed in only 10 months, meeting a “stretch goal” previously set by the client. Streamlined front-end decisions played an important role, including an RFI process that was 80% shorter than the client had previously experienced.
Building Team Awards judges were impressed with the participants’ ability to weigh wants and needs and craft a facility that achieved ambitious goals. The client has engaged Suffolk and TRO JB for a second IPD contract, this time to renovate a three-story medical office building. As with healthcare itself, new ideas about delivery are proving indispensable to positive outcomes.
Related Stories
Architects | Mar 10, 2016
Value engineering: How to manage the process and limit the risk of VE
AEC consultant Steve Whitehorn shares several ways in which architects can be more effective managers of value-engineered change.
Architects | Mar 9, 2016
Two Houston firms merge to form Method Architecture
In mid-2016, Architects-Plus and Three Square Design Group will join to make a studio that will design industrial centers, corporate interiors, breweries, and more.
Hotel Facilities | Mar 7, 2016
Exclusive villas and spa in China will be built at the center of a lake
The only connection between the complex and the mainland will be a narrow pedestrian bridge.
Office Buildings | Mar 2, 2016
HDR redesigns Twin Cities' studio to have coffee shop vibe
With open spaces, huddle rooms, and a design lab, the firm's new digs are drastically different than the old studio, which felt like working in a law office. Design Principal Mike Rodriguez highlights HDR's renovation plan.
Architects | Feb 25, 2016
12 architects selected for 2016 AIA Young Architects Award
Winners include Amy Kalar and Karen Lu, both with HGA, BNIM's Carey Nagle, and MSR Design's Bob Ganser.
Architects | Feb 24, 2016
Is the booming freelance economy a threat to AEC firms?
By shifting the work (and revenue) to freelancers, “platform capitalism” startups have taken considerable market share from traditional businesses.
Industry Research | Feb 22, 2016
8 of the most interesting trends from Gensler’s Design Forecast 2016
Technology is running wild in Gensler’s 2016 forecast, as things like virtual reality, "smart" buildings and products, and fully connected online and offline worlds are making their presence felt throughout many of the future's top trends.
Market Data | Feb 17, 2016
AIA reports slight contraction in Architecture Billings Index
Multifamily residential sector improving after sluggish 2015.
Architects | Feb 17, 2016
Developing a strategy for getting paid on time
Though talking about money can be difficult, creating and following a clear plan for getting paid is essential for your firm to thrive, writes Steve Whitehorn of Whitehorn Financial.
Architects | Feb 11, 2016
Stantec agrees to acquire VOA Associates
This deal reflects an industry where consolidation is a strategic necessity for more firms.