Thesis Proposal. Bret King Memorial Hospital Miramar Miramar, Fl 12/10/04

Transcription

1 Thesis Proposal Bret King Miramar, Fl 12/10/04

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Building Background...4 A. Insurance Policy.5 B. Fire Supression System.8 C. Structural System...11 i. Weight Matrix 15

3 Executive Summary The purpose of this thesis proposal is to outline the research topics to be conducted during the spring 2005 semester at Penn State University. These topics are presented to complete my thesis studies and to evaluate particular areas of the Memorial Hospital Miramar in terms of value, schedule, quality, and constructability. Three research areas will be the basis of the proposal. The first research topic deals with the insurance program used on the Memorial Hospital Miramar. A contractor controlled insurance policy (CCIP) is utilized on this project which has the potential to save the general contractor money. The CCIP will be compared to traditional insurance programs to determine which will be better served for use during the hospital s construction. The insurance programs will also be analyzed to determine the schedule impact of each program. A second topic is the proposal of a water mist fire suppression system to be used in place of the pre-action system. The use of the pre-action system can complicate an already MEP intensive project. Pre-action systems are costly to implement and maintain and therefore the water mist fire suppression system will be proposed to cut down on the complications and costs. The water mist fire suppression system can also cut down on the amount of water used to suppress the fire, which can save valuable equipment vital to hospital operations. Water mist fire suppression systems are still an emerging system in fire suppression and the implementation process will analyzed for feasibility on the. The final topic being researched will be the use of an alternate flat slab structural system and panel system partition walls in place of the current concrete system and partition walls. With technologies in healthcare rapidly advancing as well as increased population growth in the Miramar area, a need for flexible construction in the design of the hospital is crucial to effectively deal with the needs of the industry and of the patients. The proposed system will allow for a more adjustable hospital. The costs and schedule impacts of implementing the proposed systems will be analyzed and compared to the existing system.

4 Building Background The is a newly constructed four story healthcare facility encompassing 275,280 square feet and is located in. The climate is hot-humid allowing for the lush tropical landscaping that surrounds the building. Mediterranean style architecture is utilized, characterized by the exterior stucco finish and clay tile roofs. The structure of the building consists of cast-in-place concrete beams and columns with precast joists and soffits. The first floor of the hospital consists of reception areas, waiting rooms, general exam rooms, laboratories, and operating rooms. The 2 nd through 4 th floors contain LDRP rooms, medical surgery, ICU, and patient observation rooms. A plan is being implemented to incorporate additional floors in the future if the need arises.

5 A. Insurance Policies Background The construction industry is among the most dangerous and volatile industries in the world today. This constitutes the need for effective insurance policies to ensure a company s security in the case of injury or unforeseen circumstances. The use of contractor controlled insurance policies (CCIP) and owner controlled insurance policies (OCIP) in construction has increased over the past few years. These wrap-up insurance policies provide a potential for owners or general contractors to save money on the project by purchasing the insurance for all the subcontractors at a reduced rate and also by eliminating mark-ups from subcontractors that have their own coverage. CCIPs and OCIPs were originally used on large scale projects ($100 million or more) but are increasingly being used on smaller projects of $50 million and more (Construction web links, 2003). Problems/Issues Although most OCIPs and CCIPs promise monetary savings to either the owner or general contractor, this may not always be the case. These types of insurance policies require of the owner or general contractor to take on additional costs associated with additional accounting efforts for extracting insurance costs from subcontractor bids, monitoring efforts to ensure claims from subcontractor s employees injured on other jobs are not charged to the OCIP/CCIP, and increased responsibilities for the implementation of safety programs. For these reasons, sufficient experience in handling these policies is a must for the OCIP/CCIP to be handled competently. A safe jobsite is also crucial to the success of OCIPs and CCIPs. If the amount of claims is high for the project, the owner/contractor may lose money due to increased premiums. This requires additional risk management procedures/personnel which can add to administrative costs as well as have schedule impacts. It may also be difficult to get subcontractors to agree with the wrap-up policies due to unfair bid deduct calculations, subcontractor unfamiliarity of the programs, and loss of mark-up on insurance costs to the subcontractor. This may also cause schedule delays during a project. Proposal The use of the contractor controlled insurance policy on the Memorial Hospital Miramar will be analyzed and compared to the use of traditional insurance programs. Cost savings and possible schedule reduction will be analyzed for both systems. The use

6 of both systems in other healthcare facilities will be researched and compared to the circumstances of the CCIP on the. 1. Cost Savings The costs/savings incurred through the use of the CCIP on the Memorial Hospital Miramar will be analyzed and compared with the costs/savings incurred on other hospital projects of comparable size also using a CCIP. The results will be used to develop an average which will then be compared to the to see where the project falls when compared to other projects in the industry using a CCIP. Costs of implementing a traditional insurance program on the will then be estimated and cost information from other similar projects using traditional insurance programs will be gathered. Another average will be calculated and compared to the costs of traditional insurance programs for the. From the information gathered, the use of a CCIP vs. the use of a traditional insurance program in the will be assessed and determined which would be better implemented based on cost savings. 2. Schedule Reduction Several projects similar to the using both traditional insurance programs and CCIPs will be analyzed with respect to the amount of time needed to implement each insurance program. Administration time and risk management will be the two main focuses of the analysis. The schedule impact of the CCIP used on the will then be assessed as well as predicted schedule impacts of a traditional insurance program based on the results of other similar projects using the traditional insurance programs. After evaluating the results, it will be determined whether the CCIP or traditional insurance programs would be better implemented at the based on schedule impact. After the cost savings and schedule reduction analyses are complete, the benefits of the cost savings will be weighed against the benefits of the schedule reduction to determine which insurance program is the best fit at the when taking in consideration both cost savings and schedule. The results will be discussed explaining which program is better fit along with possible suggestions for implementing the programs. Surveys/Questions Surveys and questionnaires given to contractors with experience in both CCIPs and traditional insurance programs can be used to better conduct research on this topic. Some questions that could be asked include: - What is the extent of your experience in dealing with CCIPs?

7 - Has the use of a CCIP ever caused you to lose money on a project? If so, what were the circumstances? - To what extent has the level of risk management increased on the project due to the use of a CCIP? - To what extent has the level of administrative duties increased on the project due to the use of a CCIP? - In your experience, does the owner prefer the use of a CCIP to traditional insurance programs? - In your experience, do the subcontractors prefer the use of a CCIP to traditional insurance programs? - Have there been any problems/delays trying to get a subcontractor to agree with the terms of the CCIP? - What was the deciding factor(s) for using/not using a CCIP on the project? These questions will be tested on a contact from my summer internship in order to make sure the questions make sense when asked to other industry members. The results from this pre-test will be analyzed to make sure the questions were answered in a fashion that produces the desired results.

8 B. Fire Suppression System Background Fire suppression systems are an extremely important part of any commercial building to ensure the safety of inhabitants and to limit damage due to fires. Several different systems can be incorporated for use in a building depending on construction conditions and specifications. Both wet and pre-action systems are used in the Memorial Hospital Miramar. Both systems dispense water through sprinklers as the means to suppress the fire. In the wet system, the water is held in the pipes until the sprinkler head is activated then the water is dispensed onto the fire. In the pre-action system, the pipes are dry until an initial smoke detector triggers the controls to release the water into the pipes. The water is then ready to be dispensed if the sprinklers are activated. This trade needs to be coordinated with other trades in order for installation and implementation to go smoothly. Problems/Issues As is the case with most other healthcare facilities, the Memorial Hospital Miramar is an MEP intensive project. The use of a pre-action fire suppression system adds to the complexity of the MEP systems by requiring additional piping and controls to ensure the system works properly. The piping and controls also impose additional costs to the overall project due to increased installation and maintenance work because of the system complexity. The amount of water dispensed during the use of the pre-action suppression system can also be a problem in areas that contain equipment that can be susceptible to water damage. This can lead to high costs of replacing damaged equipment as well as the potential failure of life saving equipment. The use of a chemical fire suppression system is not feasible due to the toxicity of the chemicals. Proposal A water mist fire suppression system will be proposed for use in the Memorial Hospital Miramar in place of the pre-action system. In this system, a fine divided water mist is release on the fire which cools it creating steam which in turn extinguishes the fire. The amount of water used to extinguish the fire is greatly reduced compared to that of other fire suppression systems that use water. Water sensitive equipment can then be saved due to relative non-wetting of the equipment surfaces because of fast vaporization. This introduces potential cost savings due to saved equipment and minimal clean up of

9 the area affected by the fire. Cost savings can also be proposed from the lack of complex piping and controls. Water mist fire suppression systems are still an emerging concept in the construction industry, and although a water mist system is not yet listed in NFPA #13 as a replacement for conventional sprinkler systems, successful physical tests have been conducted that prove the effective results of water mist systems. With the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, the effectiveness of water mist systems on the can be realized. The simulations completed by CFD and other entities will be researched and a method for specifying the water mist system in the will be proposed. This will require research on water mist systems implemented on other projects and the process that was established in order for the system to be implemented. The costs of implementing the water mist fire suppression system of other projects will be analyzed including costs of test procedures, cost of installation, and annual maintenance costs. The data from this analysis will be compared to the costs of implementing and maintaining the pre-action system. The results will be used to determine which system is more feasible for initial implementation. The costs of fire restoration/damages in similar projects to the Memorial Hospital Miramar that used traditional sprinkler systems will be analyzed. The data collected will be compared to fire restoration/damage costs in projects using the water mist fire suppression system. The results will be analyzed and an assessment will be made on which system is more effective in fire damage control. The results of the two studies will be compared and weighed to determine which system is ultimately more practical for use in the. Entrainment of the mist into the firebase as predicted by the DPM model of Fluent CFD.

10 Single fluid, intermediate pressure, gas driven Control Panel Detectors Duration of discharge typically 10 minutes Cycled discharge (on-off) Stored water 8 (DiNenno, Mawhinney, Hughes Associates, 2003) Surveys/Questions Questions for industry members which can aid in my research include: - How far are water mist fire suppression systems from becoming a fully adopted means of fire suppression in buildings? - To what extent have pre-action fire suppression systems added complications/problems in implementing or maintaining? - To what extent have you/your company looked into/researched water mist fire suppression systems? - What extent of damage to expensive equipment has resulted from water damage in the use of traditional sprinkler systems to suppress a fire? - How difficult would it be to test the water mist fire suppression system for implementation on a typical project? These questions will be tested on a contact from my summer internship in order to make sure the questions make sense when asked to other industry members. The results from this pre-test will be analyzed to make sure the questions were answered in a fashion that produces the desired results.

11 D. Building Design Background The structural system used in the is a 4 story mixed CIP concrete and precast concrete system. The columns, beams, and slabs are cast-inplace and the joists and girders are precast. This type of structure is very common in the Miramar area. The sturdy construction of concrete structures provides protection from damage due to hurricanes in the region. Problems/Issues The is currently a four story building with an additional 3 level expansion planned for future construction. With the current structural system in place, the expansion would require extensive demolitions. This presents several problems. One is that the area of the building under construction will have to be vacated. Patients and facilities have to be moved to temporary locations, and the longer this is the case, the more crowded the areas will become making it more difficult for both the patients and the staff. The hospital also loses out on revenue during this time due to unused patient beds. With the healthcare industry undergoing constant technological advances along with the increasing population of the Miramar area, the Memorial Hospital Miramar needs to be as versatile as possible to adapt to the needs of industry and the patients. The current structural system makes this need difficult to realize due to the lack of ability to easily change the layouts of the rooms without significant demolitions. The increased and prolonged demolitions also increase the risk of exposure to dust or mold that could form during the additions/renovations. Proposal An alternate structural system consisting of flat slab construction without beams as well as panel system partition walls will be proposed for the Memorial Hospital Miramar to produce a more adjustable hospital. This system will help add to the flexibility of the hospital by allowing spaces to be easily adapted due to the absence of beams. Room layouts will also be able to be more easily changed due to the panel partition wall system. The system will allow for the reduction of cost and time required to renovate/add and also decrease revenue loss during construction through the more efficient use of beds and decreased construction time. The costs of the new structural

12 system and the schedule impacts of both initial construction and during proposed renovations will be analyzed for both the existing system and the proposed system. 1. Cost The cost of the current structural system and partition walls of the Memorial Hospital Miramar will be analyzed. Research will then be conducted on the costs of flat slab systems without beams on similar sized buildings taking into account the proposed additions to the. Research will also be conducted on buildings of comparable size to the that utilize panel partition wall systems and the costs of the systems will be analyzed. The costs of the current structural system and partition walls of the will be compared to the costs incurred on other projects using flat slab construction and panel partition walls. The data will be used to assess which system will incur higher initial construction costs. The costs of renovations/additions of similar size to the proposed additions to the will be analyzed on projects using a similar structural system. The costs of the additions to the will then be estimated given the current conditions based from the data from the similar projects analyzed. Costs of renovations/additions of similar size to the Memorial Hospital Miramar on projects using a flat slab system and/or partition wall systems will be analyzed. The costs of renovations/additions from the two systems will then be compared and the results will be analyzed to determine which system incurs higher renovation/addition costs. The initial construction costs of the two systems will be compared to the costs of renovations/additions. The results will be weighed against one another to determine which is the better system based on cost alone. 2. Schedule Impact The schedule of constructing the flat slab system and panel partition walls on projects of similar size to the will be analyzed. The data will then be compared to the schedule of the current structural system and partition walls of the. The results will be used to assess which system requires the least amount of schedule time to construct. The schedule of renovations/additions of similar size to the Memorial Hospital Miramar using the same current structural system and partition walls will be researched. The data will be compared to the schedule of similar sized additions/renovations using the flat slab system and/or panel partition systems. The results will be used to determine which system generates the least time impact on the schedule. The schedule results from both systems for initial construction and additions/renovations will be analyzed. The two will be weighed against each other to determine which system ultimately takes up less time on the schedule.

13 The results from both the cost analysis and the schedule analysis for both systems will be weighed against each other. This data will determine which system should ultimately be implemented when taking into consideration both cost savings and schedule reductions. Flat Slab system (Courtesy of Bistra Kangrga, CH2MHILL) Pictures courtesy of TigerWall.com Panel Wall Panel Wall Surveys/Questions In order to facilitate the proposed research, some questions will be asked of industry members pertaining to the different systems discussed in the above proposal section. Some questions may include: - What is the extent of your experience in using flat slab construction? - Were there any specific problems encountered on a project due to the use of the flat slab system? - Have you been involved in renovations/additions to buildings whose original structure was CIP beams and/or flat slab construction? If involved in both, which design was easier to work with and why?

14 - What specific problems arose during renovations with respect to the structural system? - What were the advantages/disadvantages of using wall panel partitions during the construction phase? - How much more flexibility have the wall panels added to the project both during the construction phase and after completion? - Has the use of wall panel construction significantly impacted the construction schedule? In what ways? - Do you notice any emerging trends in the healthcare industry that might suggest the use of wall panel partition systems is on the rise? These questions will be tested on a contact from my summer internship in order to make sure the questions make sense when asked to other industry members. The results from this pre-test will be analyzed to make sure the questions were answered in a fashion that produces the desired results.

15 i. Weight Matrix Description Research Value Eng. Construction Sched. Red. Total Insurance 5% 15% 10% 30% Fire System 10% 10% 5% 10% 35% Bldg Design 5% 10% 10% 10% 35% Total 20% 35% 15% 30% 100%