Location: Joplin, MO
Client: Mercy Health System
Size: $55,000,000
THE PROJECT
The unprecedented circumstances driving construction of Mercy’s Joplin Replacement Hospital led the owner, Mercy Health System, to pursue an Integrated Project Delivery Agreement (IPDA) with the aim of achieving the maximum possible return on investment. The IPDA called seamless project teamwork between all parties, including an expanded role for construction specialists to bring attention to building processes, costing and schedule performance as early in the design process as possible. The 900,000-square-foot facility comprises a nine-story hospital patient tower and five-story clinic tower with 205 private rooms and space for significant expansion. The new regional facility was hardened to provide the very latest in redundant, tornado-proof construction at the same time as it brings 21st Century medical technologies to an underserved Southwest Missouri region.
THE APPROACH
As the lead electrical partner, Guarantee brought its electrical design team into the earliest design phase. Guarantee’s contribution to the BIM Revit model contributed to streamlining design development process, frontloading detailed design in close collaboration with mechanical systems and structural design. With a heavy emphasis on collaborative preconstruction planning and detailed “pre-budgeting” the team was better positioned to adhere to what emerged as the project budget. The close, “back and forth” with the MEP consultants and the general contractor created overall a more adaptable planning process that anticipated variances, thereby avoiding costly requests for information (RFI) and cumbersome change-order management.
Heavy utilization of look-ahead planning and lean construction principles helped to optimize alignment of electrical and communications systems construction with that of the facility’s mechanical systems. Throughout implementation, prefabrication made it possible to pre-stage the contribution of the different trades who could then perform many of the most complex tasks in spaces specifically designed for fabrication. Just-in-time delivery of these components had the additional effect of reducing the manpower needed at the building site, simplifying workflows and making a less crowded construction site safer for everyone.
THE WORK
A leading feature of the electrical design was Guarantee’s recommendation for the Joplin’s Replacement Hospital to obtain utility approval for a 15000 Volt primary distribution system, using higher voltages to accommodate the scale and longer distances of the new facility. Higher voltages would bring initial savings by enabling utilization of lighter and less expensive wiring. It also set the stage for less costly ongoing operations. Guarantee provided the distribution design and documentation submissions, and obtained the necessary approvals from utility regulators, etc.
Guarantee Electrical Company provided the electrical distribution with the flexibility and backup to support the Mercy Joplin facility’s medical-surgical, critical care, women’s/children’s (labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms), pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, behavioral health, and rehabilitation services. In addition, GECO Systems installed advanced wired and wireless infrastructure with centralized UPS backup providing extra support for Mercy’s innovative electronic diagnostic and intensive care services: eAcute, Telestroke and Safewatch featuring integrated IP video and digital imaging with real time monitoring of patient vitals, etc.
SUCCESS
Finishing in an unprecedentd 46 months, setting new standards in tornado readiness for hospitals, the Joplin Replacement Hospital was completed under budget and in less than half the time it would have taken for a comparable facility. Given the unprecedented speed with which the project was completed, it is remarkable that the project was completed without a single injury or lost-time incident.