Hyper-Fast Hospital

Banner Gilbert Gateway Gets on the Fast Track

By David M. Brown

Using a so-called "hyper-fast-track" delivery method, McCarthy is underway on its 19-month construction schedule for the 360,000-sq.-ft. Banner Gateway Medical Center.

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The Southwest Region office of St. Louis-based contractor McCarthy Building Companies is completing work on the 360,000-sq-ft Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert.

The $189 million campus is being developed by Phoenix-based Banner Health and is scheduled to open in the fall on 60 acres at U.S. Highway 60 and Higley Road.

It will include a five-story inpatient bed tower, three-level diagnostic and treatment building, helipad and medical office building.

"Banner Gateway Medical Center will be a technologically advanced hospital within a healing environment, all designed to transform the patient-care experience," says Becky Kuhn, Banner Gateway Medical Center CEO.

Phoenix-based Banner Health owns or manages 19 acute-care hospitals, six long-term care centers and other medical-related services in Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming.

Employing 1,000 people, the 165 all-private-bed hospital in Gilbert will focus on obstetrics, general pediatrics, general surgery, emergency and other services. A child-care facility is also planned.

Seven operating suites will be included in the first phase of development as well as a 30-bed emergency department.

Designed by Seattle-based NBBJ in cooperation with The Orcutt Winslow Partnership of Phoenix, the new campus will have capacity to triple in size with two additional patient towers and coordinating support services.

Both the design and construction teams are benefiting from evidence-based research. Incorporated into the recently completed Banner Estrella Medical center on the west side of metropolitan Phoenix, this research-based program creates environments promoting safety and healing for both patients and staff.

Features such as large windows, gardens and outdoor gathering spaces offer therapeutic environments for patients and their families.

The design includes internet capacities in all of the rooms and instant access of medical records, allowing doctors real-time review of patient information.

"Just as we use evidence-based medicine to guide quality patient care, evidence-based design guides the architectural design of today's hospitals," Kuhn says. >>

Chris Jacobson, McCarthy project manager, calls the 19-month schedule "hyper fast-track." "The design was phased and the last drawing packages for tenant improvements were received six months after we had started," he adds.

The fast track meant that McCarthy had to meticulously coordinate schedules.

The company's concrete division performed a large foundation package, setting a project scheduling standard.

McCarthy was responsible for structural concrete including footings, approximately 2,000 lin ft of basement walls (averaging 22 in. tall and 16 in. thick) and slab-on-metal concrete decks. The company self-performed the forming, placing and finishing.

"McCarthy was able to complete the concrete per the baseline schedule and allow the structural steel to begin on time," Jacobson says.

Phoenix-based Schuff Steel provided the steelwork.

Other members of the team include glazing contractor Walters & Wolf Construction Specialties of Chandler; Phoenix-based Pete King Corp., the plaster and drywall contractor; and Tempe-based Delta Diversified Electric, who, Jacobson notes, was assiduous in getting submittals completed to ensure meeting the tightened schedule.

Similarly, Tempe-based University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors fabricated ductwork and major piping much earlier than what would have been the case with traditional field measuring. To accomplish this, UMEC developed a detailed preconstruction schedule to guide project preplanning and prefabrication activities, says Brad Thornton, president and CEO of the company.

"We identified early on that maximizing prefabrication was essential to completing the construction work in the time allowed," Thornton says. Using the schedule and weekly meetings, UMEC drove, monitored and managed the preconstruction activities to ensure that the work stayed on schedule.

The company used CAD modeling to ensure that all mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, structural and special systems were coordinated.

"We were able to identify and resolve system conflicts long before beginning construction," Thornton says. This process allowed UMEC to compare trades and identify potential routing clashes, which were discussed and resolved in weekly coordination meetings.

"This preconstruction work eliminated potential delays in the installation and enabled us to meet the very aggressive construction schedule," Thornton adds.

The 3-D computer model ensured that the installation fit into the spaces allowed without interferences. It then enabled UMEC to create fabrication drawings directly from the CAD model.

"Following the preconstruction schedule, complete lots of prefabrications by area of the building area were loaded on trucks and shipped to the jobsite on a just-in-time basis to maximize installation efficiency and minimize disruptions and congestion in the field," Thornton says.

Even though the building was still to be erected, the completion of prefabrication offsite was essential to maintaining the schedule, Jacobson says.

"This is one of the techniques or tools that allow us to build a project of this size and complexity in 19 months," he adds.

With the time constraints, staffing requirements have been demanding. The peak manpower to date has been at 550 workers per day, Jacobson says.

"The Valley is very busy, and manpower resources are spread thin," he adds.
Lead times do not always correspond to project needs under the pressures of fast-tracking, Jacobson adds. "Getting materials and equipment approved and ordered was a major focus for our team." Where lead times were going to impact the project schedule, McCarthy pre-purchased major equipment prior to subcontractors being onboard.

Key Players
Owner: Banner Health
Architect: NBBJ; The Orcutt Winslow Partnership
General Contractor: McCarthy Building Companies
Electrical: Delta Diversified Enterprises Inc.
Mechanical: University Mechanical & Engineering Contrs.
Steel: Schuff Steel
Other: Walters & Wolf Construction Specialties; Pete King Corp.