Suffolk Construction to manage Lawrence & Memorial Hospital Cancer Center project in Waterford, Conn.

Suffolk Construction was recently awarded Lawrence & Memorial Hospital’s Cancer Center project in Waterford, Conn. The $34.5 million Cancer Center will feature new construction of a 47,000 square-foot comprehensive facility that will include extensive radiation and medical oncology programs, along with state-of-the-art treatment technologies. The project is notable because it will be one of the first healthcare construction projects in the country to utilize the innovative Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method.

For the Cancer Center project, the IPD method will consist of a contractual arrangement between Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, Suffolk Construction, and the architecture firm, TRO Jung|Brannen. The contract will require that all risk and reward on the project be shared with all project stakeholders, including mechanical/plumbing/controls, electrical, and sitework contractors. The origin of IPD is aligned with Suffolk’s proactive, collaborative approach to managing construction projects.

Suffolk will also leverage lean design and construction techniques and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to minimize issues during construction, enhance team-wide collaboration, and add significant overall value on the project. In conjunction with Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, the project team will utilize the Production Preparation Process (3P) lean design approach and pull planning tools to allow for more decision making and knowledge sharing early in the planning process. Pull planning will enable the team to improve the flow of the project schedule, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.

Construction of the Cancer Center—which signifies Suffolk’s first project with Lawrence & Memorial Hospital—will begin in spring 2012. The grand opening is scheduled for September 2013. The Cancer Center project is part of Lawrence& Memorial Hospital’s master facility plan and will feature a sustainable design strategy to achieve LEED Silver certification. BD+C

Two innovations—program manager Gafcon’s SharePoint360 project management platform and a new BIM “wall creator” add-on developed by ClarkDietrich Building Systems for use with the Revit BIM platform and construction consultant—show how fabricators and owner’s reps are stepping in to fill the gaps between construction and design that can typically be exposed by working with a 3D model.