One conundrum is common among facility owners and managers of institutional and commercial facilities planning a renovation or retrofit project: “We need to expand or renovate our space, but we can’t shut down operations.”
By mixing creative choreography with ground rules, goals, and expectations, owners, managers and construction firms can make these hard jobs a little easier, according to Todd Imming in an article on Healthcare Facilities Today.
It often seems impossible to accomplish successful renovations and uninterrupted operations, and owners and managers can quickly find themselves in a state of paralysis by analysis. But it is possible.
Before digging into the details of ways to keep a facility running during an expansion or renovation, it’s important to discuss the reason it’s a good idea to complete a construction project this way.
First, an owner or manager might have no other choice. For organizations that lack the luxury of a construction-ready greenfield site, completing a project while work goes on might be the only option.
Second, staying in operation means keeping projects moving. The facility won’t be totally free of interruptions, but at least the wheels will keep turning. That continuity benefits those you serve, whether they are students, patients or customers.
Finally, staying in operation means staying in position to accomplish the organization’s goals. Schools continue educating kids. Hospitals continue healing the sick and injured. Factories keep turning out widgets. It’s an attractive option for for-profit organizations that must generate revenue during a time of significant expense. The same is true for non-profit or educational entities that want to stay focused on their core missions no matter what.
A detailed plan with strict rules must be put in place to ensure construction work can carry on with minimal interference with regular business. There are trade-offs.
No plan is perfect, but depending on the site and circumstances, some plans make more sense than others.
This Quick Read was submitted by Cathryn Jakicic, Healthcare Industries Editor, FacilitiesNet. For more about hospital campuses and other medical facilities, visit https://www.facilitiesnet.com/healthcarefacilities.
