ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION – ‘DECANTING’
“I think all roads lead back to understanding better what the differences are between temporary decant accommodation and permanent facilities in terms of briefing and product definition,” said Keith Hodgson.
adaptability and flexibility. We’re always told to write about it in our bids, but what does it actually mean? Does it mean partitions that you can move around? For us, adaptability is about standard rooms, so that you have a suite of exam / consult rooms that are repeated, that are exactly the same for everybody. So, any consultant, GP, clinician, or other staff member can use those rooms, and they can go into any room because they’re going to find exactly the same kit – and you can go to any facility across that Trust and know that everything will be in the same place. That’s flexibility and adaptability, because it’s giving them the option to do what they want wherever they want. In my view, it’s not about moving partitions around.” MH: “McAvoy has done this. We can be a solutions provider where perhaps adaptability and flexibility weren’t considered in the existing building. In 2013, for instance, we provided two new theatres at a third-storey level connecting to the original circulation corridor of the existing theatre suite at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry. This avoided the need to separate the theatre provision on the hospital site. It could be accessed using the same lifts, waiting areas, and
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staff spaces. In this instance, offsite manufacturing provided a flexible and adaptable solution that hadn’t been considered as a possibility to start with. However inside the space, I really like your idea of that standard room that can be adapted, rather than actually changing the room sizes, areas, or equipment.” MJC: “We forget that we’ve got a huge wealth of standardised information available to us. If we go back to buildings that we designed 15 years ago, they might have changed a couple of things, but the consulting room still functions in a similar way. The equipment is getting smaller all the time. So, I think we can be quite resolute that what we’re providing is flexible enough to have a variety of uses. We have to remember that, and use it as a rationale that goes through these buildings – because if we go back to the cost aspect of it and, for example, for an 80% standardised approach and 20% bespoke, then you can manage the cost a lot more easily, because you’ve got repetitive elements that you know the cost of, and they stack up.”
Key conclusions to emerge Following this in-depth discussion, among the key messages to emerge were: MH: “Collaboration needs to start earlier than stage zero, and as a team, we need to position ourselves to make that happen. We also need to drive standardisation, particularly for key rooms that provide multi-functional spaces for our clients. McAvoy has pre-tested offsite solutions that can facilitate this standardisation.” MJC: “For me, it’s about asking the right questions, right at the beginning.” MK: “From a procurement perspective, it’s how we can encourage the conversations that are required to deliver the best outcome and remove any barriers to success.” KH: “Ensuring that we have a clear understanding of what we’re classifying as temporary decant accommodation versus a more traditional type of permanent building is key. Also, we might consider investing more money at the front end (briefing/high-level design stages) for the benefit of latter stages, ensuring robust coordination, and that we achieve future-
proofed design and specifications.” WP: “Being bold enough to challenge the scope at the beginning, but at the same time, we need to find the right mechanism to facilitate that process and engage with the client without fears of collusion.” CA: “From our perspective, we always want to be involved in the process earlier. From an MEP perspective, engaging with NHS Trusts and architects earlier in the journey is key to supporting the future- proofing of decant facilities.” AP: “For me, it’s understanding the use of the space and its needs, to provide some insights and education to all involved in the project, and through early engagement.” This closed an interesting and forthright
discussion.
Martin Harvey
Martin Harvey is head of Design and Technical Services at McAvoy. He has designed and managed numerous prominent projects from concept to completion – from client engagement and planning, through to manufacture and construction. He oversees McAvoy’s internal design team and external design partners, ensuring that all designs are compliant with client ERs and statutory requirements. He is responsible for advancing McAvoy’s platform-based solutions, which it says ‘optimise offsite manufacturing opportunities, while providing maximum flexibility to clients’.
A lot of this revolves around an intensive creative process, whether it’s architecture-led or a multidisciplinary consultancy-led project. Ultimately, you’re talking about identifying the need, how you make the building work, organise the programme, develop the cost plan, and risk-assess all those parameters
He works closely with McAvoy’s head of Manufacturing to lead innovation and product development, ensuring that all designs are developed in line with DfMA principles. He also led McAvoy’s involvement in the Seismic consortium. Martin Harvey is currently leading his team to develop the McAvoy digital model to maximise the outputs of the digital asset, with a view to further supporting manufacturing and project delivery.
Warren Percival March 2024 Health Estate Journal 83
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