A range of pandemic-prompted innovations have changed industry practice for good. Josephine Smit talks to those who led the way
From 鈥淏uild back better鈥� to 鈥淣ever let a good crisis go to waste鈥�, politicians and business leaders have no shortage of aphorisms and slogans to apply to new ways of working in the wake of the pandemic. While for many, changes in the way they operate have been driven by two years of abnormal trading conditions, enforced lockdown closures or large-scale working from home, some working in construction had a very different experience to draw on.
They are the consultants, contractors, specialists and suppliers involved in delivering pandemic-related facilities like Nightingale hospitals and testing facilities. While others temporarily slowed or halted operations, these businesses and individuals found themselves working harder and faster than ever to respond to the emergency. Within the common and familiar foundations of the ProCure22 framework and NEC3 contract, project participants excelled and innovated in their processes and practices to deliver what was needed.
The resulting projects have, in many cases, already been dismantled, but the ways of working adopted to deliver them have left their mark. Some project participants have developed new practices, while for others the experiences have confirmed the value of approaches promoted through reports ranging from Sir John Egan鈥檚 Rethinking Construction to the government鈥檚 current Construction Playbook. At the same time, projects have highlighted the gap between the everyday and best practice, giving the broader industry much to think about.
What鈥檚 best for the project?
With six Nightingales to its credit, interdisciplinary design consultant BDP was more involved than many in pandemic projects. The ProCure 22 framework meant the practice found itself working with partners it already knew from previous projects. 鈥淪o straight away there was almost an alliance approach, with people bringing the right skills to projects,鈥� explains Nick Fairham, chief executive of the practice and lead on its Bristol and Cardiff Nightingales. 鈥淲e knew how we worked, how the framework worked, we had a track record and a pre-formed team, so could hit the ground running.鈥� With the supply chain on board early, the architect could identify any challenges and design around them from the outset.
BDP鈥檚 Nightingale at the ExCeL Centre, in London, was the first of its kind and demanded prototyping to evolve requirements for medical processes such as 鈥渄onning and doffing鈥� 鈥� putting on and taking off PPE. The practice prototyped the standard components for the London project and rolled successful options out across others.
The wider use of this kind of prototyping has been accelerated by the Nightingale projects, and is helping clients understand their options, as Fairham outlines: 鈥淎 client might say a bed space needs to be a certain size. We could say that would deliver 100 beds in a hospital but a compromise could deliver 150, and demonstrate that through prototyping. Suddenly you are in a dialogue where you are adding value through knowledge and innovation.鈥�
This prototyping approach goes hand in hand with the practice鈥檚 use of technology to help people engage with design, which saw the company create QR code-accessible drawings of the 4,000-plus rooms of its new Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran.
Straight away there was almost an alliance approach, with people bringing the right skills to projects
Nick Fairham, BDP
Fairham describes the design and delivery process for the Nightingales as seamless, and something that is being enabled through digital engineering and Revit. The practice created a standard cubicle design, taking on board factors including space standards, work sequencing, materials specification, the equipment inside cubicles and their users. Now the firm is going further by looking at standardising processes and design components for new hospitals, taking on board efficiency, sustainability and whole-life value. Fairham explains: 鈥淲ith a digital engineering approach, 80% of a building is standardised 鈥� and that creates time and space to focus on the other 20%, the elements that have more engagement with the users and more risk.鈥�
The practice is developing a suite of rooms via the New Hospital Programme, with the aim of ultimately creating around 70 standard rooms covering key elements. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a performance-based specification, so doesn鈥檛 preclude market competition,鈥� adds Fairham, who hopes this will ultimately become a tool for the industry.
With a digital engineering approach, 80% of a building is standardised 鈥� and that creates time and space to focus on the other 20%
Nick Fairham, BDP
Above all, BDP鈥檚 experience on these projects has given it a new mantra in the question: What鈥檚 best for the project? 鈥淚f you think about that, it helps foster collaboration and innovation, and drives value for money. It鈥檚 something we鈥檙e using a lot more in terms of our terminology,鈥� says Fairham. The projects saw unified teams working towards common goals. 鈥淥ne lesson we鈥檝e learned is to have empathy for other people鈥檚 targets within a project,鈥� he adds. The shift towards NEC contracting is indicative of broader recognition of the benefits of collaboration, Fairham points out, and he sees that shift continuing with the NEC4 alliance contract, which is being used by the partners of Hallam Alliance 鈥� including BDP 鈥� on projects for Sheffield Hallam University.
Supporting stakeholders
Many of those involved in the pandemic healthcare construction projects talk of the unusual degree of empathy and collaboration engendered among clients and stakeholders, designers, delivery team and the supply chain. While the emergency situation and the intensity of working relationships were unique to the pandemic, the achievements have provided some food for thought for the construction industry. 鈥淲e always try to create a common goal, but working in the Nightingales gave a sense of purpose and buy-in right from the start of the project. The experience has made us more aware of the impact that can have,鈥� says Cheryl Parsons, health sector director at Kier Group.
Working in the Nightingales gave a sense of purpose and buy-in right from the start of the project. The experience has made us more aware of the impact that can have
Cheryl Parsons, Kier Group
Kier worked on the 300-bed Bristol Nightingale, created in a conference centre at the University of the West of England in just 20 days by a team also including BDP and Faithful+Gould. The contractor relied largely on familiar ProCure22 processes, templates and communication routes as the foundation of its working approach. 鈥淲e needed to fast-track every aspect of design and delivery, but underpin it with the certainty of tried and tested processes and procedures, to make sure we could deliver everything right first time,鈥� says Parsons. The firm brought in an experienced team and a supply chain with the right attitude and behaviours, because, she continues, 鈥淭he ability to problem-solve was key, to quickly assess solutions, particularly for their suitability for a clinical environment and their impact on the running of a live hospital.鈥�
The Nightingales demonstrated the value of Teams and other digital platforms to provide ready means of communication and information-sharing, and to drive rapid decisions 鈥� which on the Bristol project often had to be made within an hour. 鈥淲e used digital platforms to ensure the whole client, design, delivery and supply chain had access to information immediately. As soon as a decision was made, everybody saw everything,鈥� says Parsons.
These tools are now helping not only to speed up decision-making but also to increase stakeholder engagement. 鈥淲e鈥檙e currently using the approach across a number of live schemes,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚t allows people to contribute at a time that suits them, which is important as our healthcare clients are often balancing huge pressures of delivering clinical services while making decisions on project designs.鈥�
We used digital platforms to ensure the whole client, design, delivery and supply chain had access to information immediately. As soon as a decision was made, everybody saw everything
Cheryl Parsons, Kier Group
Parsons says Kier鈥檚 experience has given a deeper appreciation of client needs and so how to drive improved decision-making and solutions. 鈥淎 key lesson for us has been around supporting stakeholders so that they have the right level of information to make decisions and can understand their impact,鈥� she explains.
She sees many elements of the Construction Playbook in the approaches promoted to deliver the Nightingales, including the use of digital and technology, collaboration and early engagement and integration with the supply chain. With materials supply lines disrupted during the pandemic, early supply chain engagement became pivotal and allowed the contractor to pursue product-led design solutions. BDP鈥檚 standardised design for the Nightingale 鈥� and the how-to guide it created alongside this 鈥� was also a game-changer, paving the way for the contractor to add its own innovations, such as in establishing a near-site prefabrication area for services and bedhead trunkings.
In all, six contractors worked across the Nightingales 鈥� and they worked collaboratively with each other too. 鈥淲e were never in competition on individual programmes; we shared materials, managed the design team together and shared ideas. I鈥檝e never seen anything like that before,鈥� admits Parsons. 鈥淭he experience highlighted the benefits of the ProCure22 approach for delivery and is potentially industry-changing. I hope we can continue to build on it.鈥�
Fundamentally changing the business approach
Pandemic projects have had a significant impact on modular solutions provider Premier Modular. 鈥淲e鈥檝e fundamentally changed our business approach and become a slicker business because of what we鈥檝e learned,鈥� says managing director David Harris. The firm was involved in two initiatives: the Nightingale Exeter and provision of 50 standalone covid test sites for locations from Portsmouth to Inverness. For the former, the firm worked with Bam Construction, Arup and T Clarke, providing a 1,700m2 modular building that wrapped around a former superstore to double its size.