As part of BMI Healthcare’s scheme for Alexandra Hospital, we were tasked with transforming a disused network rail coal yard into a new overflow car park, with CCTV, lighting and fencing. The hospital was suffering from a severe parking problem in their existing car park, which had become so overcrowded and inaccessible for both staff and patients that many had resulted in parking on surrounding grass verges. We were approached to help improve conditions and reach the standards that are expected at a privatised hospital. With the initial design being £125K over the budget, we were tasked with providing extensive value engineering solutions to reduce the cost down to an affordable option.
Early contract involvement allowed us to analyse each section of works and provide a number of alternative design options that would reduce the overall cost. These designs included recycled all materials on site and used a crusher to ground down concrete for our subbase material. We opted to reduce the subbase thickness through testing and adapting to ground conditions, as the original design was over specified. Although the complexity of the design increased. We ensured that all our cost saving solutions would not impede the project’s ultimate objective.
Our site bordered a live railway line which required close coordination with Network Rail as well as the hospital itself. We also had two PICOWS (Person In Charge Of Works) on site, whose sole purpose was to ensure the safety of the site team when working in close proximity to the railway.
Following completion of the car park, BMI Healthcare wished to demolish a building and rebuild an MRI scanning facility. The construction of the new facility required the existing oxygen and nitrogen supply tanks, a diesel storage tank for the emergency generators and the electrical services to be relocated and rerouted as accommodation works for the new facility.
On completion of the fuel tanks, BMI requested us to extend our contract to carry out various footway and car park improvement works to improve vehicular access and increase pedestrian safety in addition to ensuring disabled compliant access through the hospital grounds.
As work was sited within the grounds of the hospital, it was imperative that there was no disruption to the usual hospital operations. We met all programme outcomes required on the project whilst also undertaking additional works, allowing the hospital facilities to remain open whilst maintain goodwill of the client, hospital and patients.
