CONSTRUCTION PROCESSES
methods and tools on healthcare projects are clear cut. In a sector which demands quality and precision, these tools can help to improve the accuracy and efficiency of construction, providing design visualisations that engage the end-user, and allowing project teams to deliver right first time. Alongside project delivery, the data insight that these tools provide are also helpful to end-users’ ongoing building operation and management. Digital construction is an exciting,
An aerial view of the new Kingsway Hospital in Derby taking shape.
Building, digital tools will also increase safety mechanisms for babies in its new maternity facilities. Enhanced digital security will signal to the doors to lock automatically when triggered to ensure that babies are protected.
Cultural and educational advocacy The benefits of digital construction to both contractor and client are clear, but the construction industry has long been considered slow to adapt to new working practices. To reap the rewards of digital methods and tools, companies need to ensure that their culture can embrace digitisation. This culture should make a conscious effort to embed digital tools in everyday working practice, and provide the right training for team members of all levels – from the Board to the trades, to the supply chain and beyond. Ultimately, it is important companies
understand that digital tools are not just the reserve of the digital construction team, but a part of the way we all go to work now. Digital tools should not be exclusive – for example, integrating Power BI (an interactive data visualisation software product) and site capture can make project data more accessible and useable for the wider team. Digital construction’s benefits should also be communicated beyond those involved in internal engagement initiatives to ensure that the healthcare sector and construction industry are making the most of its potential benefits to their projects. Luckily, digital tools are good at fostering buy-in from the end-user. For example, at Derby Kingsway Hospital, the visualisation software, Twinmotion, allowed a range of stakeholders (such as nurses who will be working on the site) to feed back on the project design. Given that healthcare facilities are difficult to access after completion, and have a range of technical requirements to mitigate any safety risks,
66 Health Estate Journal August 2024
past the engagement benefits of these sessions, the insight of the end-user helped ensure the quality of the project. AI-generated reporting data can also boost the client’s confidence in project delivery by providing visual records. A similar approach should be taken
towards the supply chain: engaging the supply chain with digital construction methods and tools will support smooth project delivery and help change the wider industry for the better. Digital models of products can be integrated into visualisation software, and by requesting these models, contractors help to normalise this digital best practice. Suppliers without these models will ask themselves why, and likely be in a better position to engage with digital construction methods on the next project they supply.
Joint ventures Joint ventures offer another prime environment for sharing best practice and encouraging industry engagement with digital construction methods, and IHP has promoted the use of advanced digital construction skills as part of the New Hospitals Cohort 2 Programme. The collaboration between businesses is a platform to share favoured tools and methods, ultimately improving both organisations’ approach to digital construction. Looking to the future, firms can also play a part in developing the next generation of digital tools coming to the market by offering projects for on-site trials. AI, for example, is developing at pace, with myriad potential benefits for all industries, including construction, and it is workplace trials that help products refine their offering and become commercially viable. Several prototypes of HP Site Print were trialled at Derby Kingsway before the product launched to market. The benefits of digital construction
potentially transformative, innovation for the industry. However, its benefits will not be enjoyed by the construction chain, or by healthcare sector clients and end-users, unless efforts to educate teams in the benefits of digital construction methods and train them in relevant skills make it ‘business as usual’. Past internal initiatives, and collaborative efforts – such as joint- ventures or on-site trials to help develop new digital tools, help with industry knowledge sharing and developing best practice (and developing the next generation of digital construction tools). Teams delivering healthcare projects and beyond will only reap benefits, as evolving digital construction practices free them up to focus on more complex engineering challenges.
Mark Gibson
Mark Gibson, managing director of Healthcare at Sir Robert McAlpine, has had a long and successful career in the construction industry. He started as a trainee at Sir Robert McAlpine in 1992, and achieved chartership through part-time education. After gaining experience in other companies, he rejoined Sir Robert McAlpine and rose to the position of Northern Region managing director. In 2023, he became MD of Healthcare, leading the delivery of complex and innovative projects in the healthcare sector. Mark is passionate about building strong relationships with clients, partners, and stakeholders, and delivering excellence in every aspect of his work.
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