DIGITAL INNOVATION
information, such as how operating theatres should be configured, all set in an easy-to-navigate platform. “One of the most important things around the DSF is that it separates opinion from an approved policy,” added Sean Madden.
Encouraging innovation, rather than standardisation At the heart of DSF, and what sets it apart from other systems, is a governance process that is set on reconciling information and driving continual improvement. Within the software, users can highlight conflicts in information, and feed back suggested changes to the client, in this case HMC’s management team. Differing opinions can be discussed and resolved through the same governance process too. This results in an evolving system, which keeps itself current, and is bespoke to a healthcare provider. Users span everybody from the healthcare estate management and healthcare engineering staff who run facilities, to healthcare commissioners, designers, and planners, not to mention all the consultants who are engaged in the strategic planning. The framework is also constantly evolving, as new data, policies, and feedback, are generated. Crucially, the DSF encourages innovation rather than standardisation. It was also important that we created a
system that is easy to access and search. We noticed that, even though there were a few knowledge management pieces of software before DSF, we could not find anything that had the ease of use and navigation for both the user and the content management team. We thus decided to take the matter into our own hands, and developed DSF from scratch.
Moving seamlessly through the available information We want consultants to be able to move seamlessly through the available information, learning from and sharing with other disciplines. Using a navigation panel, content can be found in the software easily using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. This saves time, and allows users to see the route of information and where it comes from, as well as to understand the reasoning behind it to make more informed decisions. In turn, this unlocks more opportunity
for innovation, which users are actively encouraged to think about. Ideas for improvements or changes can be marked within the system, and again these are sent to the client for review and approval. This means that learnings are captured as projects progress. The programme really has been a game- changer for HMC. We’ve seen it deliver significant efficiencies and encourage collaboration among a disparate group of consultants and clinicians. By creating
Buro Happold says that the Design Standards Framework software is ‘holistic’, and includes everything from HMC’s national strategies and site masterplans, to more detailed site information, such as how operating theatres should be configured, ‘all set in an easy-to-navigate platform’.
a common approach, we’ve saved time and cost, and have also improved facility performance. “A large corporation like HMC has over
22,000 employees and assets around the country”, added Sean Madden. “That means it’s vital that we run a single mode of care over multiple sites. All sites must adhere to the same standards, so that the service can be run consistently across them. DSF supports us across our whole built environment portfolio, as we can input information about our buildings in one place, even though they might have been built with different design standards. That means a single service can be delivered across multiple sites, no matter where they are based, or when the individual site was brought into the wider portfolio.”
Huge steps forward The DSF is, however, more than just about streamlining processes. It has resulted in huge steps forward in the rate of continual improvement. We’re able to better capture the new ideas and experience of consultants working on projects. By deploying this latest thinking, HMC is able to deliver ever more cutting-edge facilities. While this work has been born out of Buro Happold’s collaboration with HMC, the DSF can be used by any healthcare provider. We need to make sure that we’re
continuing to push boundaries in delivering smart ways of capturing information and development standards. The past two years alone have also shown the importance of sharing lessons learned from delivering care amid a global healthcare crisis. Systems like DSF clearly have a key role to play in this, transforming how we all collaborate in future.
Gavin Thompson
Gavin Thompson, Partner at Buro Happold, joined the business in 1987. He became a Partner in 2000, before becoming CEO in 2005 – a post he held for the full-term of six years. While CEO, he became Chairman of the Buro Happold board, a role that he handed over in 2012.
Wanting to share his passion for design and complex problem-solving in the built environment, he set up the Urban C:Lab programme, a movement which supports and develops the next generation of consultants from within and outside Buro Happold who work together on emerging challenges in the built environment. Since the mid- 1990s, he has lectured at universities across the UK and US, in particular teaching multidisciplinary design, running architectural low carbon masterclasses in the US, and acting as an external examiner at Northumbria University.
Gavin Thompson is a past Chairman of The Happold Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which promotes the role of engineering in society.
April 2022 Health Estate Journal 63
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