Last spring, the U.S. Navy Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) awarded a five-year, $50 million architect-engineering services contract to a joint venture between WSP USA and HKS for the Command’s medical facilities projects around the world.
This so-called indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract covers hospitals, dental clinics, medical clinics, veterinary clinics, laboratories, sustainment/restoration/modernization projects, military construction projects, and medical studies.
The contract is not exclusive to the two firms, but it lets NAVFAC assign certain projects to them. NAVFAC selected seven projects under this contract for 2018, including a 477,000-sf, $298 million health, education, and research facility for the Uniformed Services University at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; and a 44,000-sf medical and dental clinic in Jacksonville, N.C. There’s also a renovation component, plus four research studies that will help define future projects.
See Also: N.Y. builder pushes to get military trauma centers up and running quicker
WSP, which has been active in the healthcare sector for a quarter century, decided to compete for this contract after noticing that the AE presence in the government sector was “not as strong” as in other sectors, says Nolan Rome, PE, U.S. Healthcare Director for WSP’s Dallas office.
Rome says that he had seen IDIQ-type contracts in the past and thought that a combination with an architecture firm might work for both companies and the client. Over the previous seven years, WSP and HKS had collaborated on 42 healthcare projects for the military and private sector.
“We promised a one-stop shop for whatever the government would need, and they perceived us as something new and different,” says Jim Whitaker, AIA, DBIA, Principal and SVP with HKS. “Now, we’re the Navy’s go-to task-order vendor.”
NAVFAC follows a Uniform Facilities Criteria that touches on everything from design to scheduling. It also leans toward design-bid-build delivery, whereas the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Veterans Health Administration prefer design-build. (Rome says WSP will self-perform 98% of the work under the NAVFAC contract.)
Each agency imposes spending limits, notably a 6% cap on total cost design services. “We’ve responded to those parameters with an integrated design approach,” says Alan Davis, Vice President for WSP’s Built Ecology, a national practice based on integration between architect and engineer.
Whitaker says that having a predetermined cost structure and pre-existing relationship can “make procurement easier.”
HKS and WSP have been talking with other government agencies about setting up similar contractual arrangements.
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 16, 2016
The future of healthcare design education: 5 takeaways from ACHA 2016
Creating a network of experts to talk next generation healthcare design education
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 15, 2016
Future proofing hospitals
By improving the physical layout of hospitals and medical facilities, we can enhance and increase safety mechanisms, improve care, and help reduce the exposure to medical errors, writes Skanska USA's Andrew Quirk.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 10, 2016
11 principles for pediatric healthcare design
Engagement at all levels, designing with families in mind, and integrating flexible spaces are all important design considerations to keep in mind for pediatric healthcare planning, writes HDR's Brian Zabloudil.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 9, 2016
Key strategies to reduce healthcare facility costs and maintain operations
The right approach during the planning, design, and construction of a new facility can yield a positive return on investment and lower the overall cost basis for ongoing operations, writes Steve Higgs, Senior Managing Director with CBRE Healthcare.
| Aug 8, 2016
HEALTHCARE GIANTS: Age-simulation technology aids design for the mobility impaired
As the 65+ population continues to rise, the AEC industry needs to better understand the stresses and anxieties those who are mobility impaired face when navigating spaces like medical facilities.
| Aug 8, 2016
Top 80 Healthcare Engineering Firms
AECOM, Jacobs, and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare building sector engineering and E/A firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 8, 2016
Top 100 Healthcare Construction Firms
Turner Construction Co., McCarthy Holdings, and Skanska USA top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare building sector construction and construction management firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 8, 2016
Top 90 Healthcare Architecture Firms
HDR, Stantec, and Perkins+Will top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest healthcare building sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
AIA selects seven winners of healthcare building design award
The National Healthcare Design Awards recognizes functional hospital projects that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns. Recipients were selected in three categories this year.
Architects | Jul 22, 2016
5 creative approaches to finish standards
With the right mindset, standards can produce great design for healthcare facilities, as VOA's Candace Small explores.