Garthwaite, P M and Eckert, C M (2012) Glitches, snags and crises: A study of change in two hospital adaptation projects. In: Smith, S D (ed.) Proceedings of 28th Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2012, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
Design and programme changes during refurbishment projects remain a considerable cause of concern for UK National Health Service (NHS) Estates managers, due to their potential to disrupt or delay projects and increase cost uncertainty. Similar concerns also impact on the engineering sector, especially in the production of complex, highly engineered products. The techniques developed to study and manage engineering change may have positive benefits for construction. This research looks at the mechanisms of change that operate in refurbishment projects with the aim of identifying commonalities with engineering change. Hence, the research adopts an engineering approach to change and evaluates three very different NHS refurbishment projects, to explore change events and identify options for limiting the consequences of change. The projects chosen for this study were markedly different, with specific drivers, procurement methods, contracts and building systems. One project concerned the construction of a factory-fabricated, modular extension to a UK hospital, while a second entailed a "state of the art" refurbishment of an existing neo-natal unit. A third project involved a heavily constrained ward refurbishment. Factors which influenced the level and complexity of change frequently resulted from the lack of accurate information at crucial stages, particularly related to the existing building structure and condition. However, the necessary changes followed very different trajectories. This study forms part of a much larger investigation which aims to develop sustainable adaptations for hospital buildings in response to the changing climate.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | change propagation; refurbishment; hospitals; constraints; engineering |
| Index terms: | building system, propagation, state of the art, investigation, refurbishment project, option, complexity, procurement method, manager, health service, adaptation, programme |
| Subjects: | public and environmental health, infrastructure engineering, decision analysis, project controls, systems engineering, user focus, engineering process, research dissemination and communication, data collection methods, practitioner, engineering systems, contractual arrangements |
| Topics: | Procurement, Risk Management, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Health and Safety, Time Control, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here