The Owensboro Medical Health System (OMHS) in Owensboro, Ky., USA, is building a replacement facility consisting of a nine-story, 780,000 square foot hospital and a threestory diagnostic and treatment building on a 160-acre site. Scheduled for completion in 2013, the project has utilized the integrated project delivery (IPD) method. While IPD can be benefi cial to an entire project and all building team members, it has proven especially helpful for the technology design and deployment on this project. KLMK Group (KLMK) served as owners’ representatives on the project. In addition to mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering services, Smith Seckman Reid (SSR) provided technology engineering services.

The following describes the IPD experience for this project, and how one hospital is being built better as a result. Technology is slowly but persistently gaining clout in facility design and construction. Its importance in the modern business world is undeniable, and while many have observed this for years, health facility budgets are starting to support the claim as well. Th e OMHS project spent approximately US$30 million on hospital technology; this fi gure comes remarkably close to the amount spent on mechanical and electrical, and is well more than what was spent on plumbing. Technology is the present and the future, and those who have spent their careers in construction are making mental room for technology to claim its rightful place next to mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering services.

Download