Dec. 10, 2008 - Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente Receives CofO Ahead of Schedule and Below Budget with help of FreightTrain®
Oakland, CA - Construction on the brand new Kaiser Downey Medical Center broke ground on February 2004. Totaling more than 1 million in square footage, the $300 million center was scheduled to become one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken by Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente (KP).
In response to a growing demand of outpatient accessibility, KP-Downey chose to build the 352-bed, full-service hospital housing 82 departments, an 85-room emergency department, and including inpatient and outpatient services. HMC Architects' designs for the new facility focused on amusing environments for patients and staff, while making room for specialty services to be offered which included cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, nuclear medicine, oncology, surgery and urgent care. Undertaking this colossal project was McCarthy Building Companies, whose tasks included construction on the five separate structures including a separate parking structure housing 650 spaces.
MCarthy appointed Healthcare Technical Systems (HTS) consulting services and their FreightTrain® web-based software system to manage this complex project. The Los Angeles-based consulting firm specializing in building Commissioning, including Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing (MEP) coordination and overall project management as well as healthcare Transition Planning services, implemented its existing FreightTrain® software to streamline the commissioning process for the Downey center. HTS' services included coordinating with KP-Downey to develop a technical specification to customize the existing Room Completion Database (RCD). Flowcharts, screenshots, and typical reports were delivered by HTS for review and comment by KP-Downey. In order to comply with its client's needs, HTS developed code and performed alpha and beta testing of the applications, as well as applicable user testing on the FreightTrain.com website. After testing was completed, HTS developed training materials and coordinated presentation of RCD training to KP-Downey personnel.
The two phases of construction were scheduled to be completed in 2005 and 2008, but McCarthy and HTS' dedicated partnership on this benchmark project achieved certificate of occupancy 106 days ahead of schedule, at $46 million below budget. "FreightTrain® allowed subcontractors and field staff to understand where their inspection stood and see their issues in real time. This greatly improved the QC process, leading to a 90% first inspection pass rate," noted a McCarthy Project Manager on the promptly met deadlines for the center. The FreightTrain® software, which launched in 2002, uses custom Visual Fragnets® and Metrics and Analysis to communicate and track construction status quickly and effectively. On realizing the most important role played by the web-based software, one McCarthy Construction Senior Project Manager concluded, "FreightTrain® prevented small issues from becoming larger ones."
To find out more information on how your company can beat deadlines and budget costs, please contact Bill Clemenson wmclemenson@consulthts.com
About FreightTrain
Founded in 2002, FreightTrain®, a division of HTS, LLC, provides graphical, web-based systems for construction management. FreightTrain's room-based database provides instant access to project status and a common framework for communication between owner, contractor, subcontractors and inspectors. Our tablet PC’s enable instant field updates of construction status. Our Visual Fragnet® drawings provide colorized maps of construction status by date and by any selected parameter.
FreightTrain® has been used on construction projects totaling over $5B in value. Our users report significantly reduced construction costs, better quality, improved communication between all parties to the construction process, and faster project completion.
About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. was founded in 1864 by an Irish immigrant named Timothy McCarthy. The general contracting firm is now one of the largest and most diversified construction companies in America. For 138 years, we were primarily a family owned business. That changed in 2002 when the company became 100% employee owned. Each of us now has a personal — and financial — stake in the company's future, and each of us now has a greater responsibility to each other to innovate and provide real value. The net result is an empowering environment that is entrepreneurial in nature, and is directed towards providing our clients with creative and value-oriented building solutions.
back
Oakland, CA - Construction on the brand new Kaiser Downey Medical Center broke ground on February 2004. Totaling more than 1 million in square footage, the $300 million center was scheduled to become one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken by Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente (KP).
In response to a growing demand of outpatient accessibility, KP-Downey chose to build the 352-bed, full-service hospital housing 82 departments, an 85-room emergency department, and including inpatient and outpatient services. HMC Architects' designs for the new facility focused on amusing environments for patients and staff, while making room for specialty services to be offered which included cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, nuclear medicine, oncology, surgery and urgent care. Undertaking this colossal project was McCarthy Building Companies, whose tasks included construction on the five separate structures including a separate parking structure housing 650 spaces.
MCarthy appointed Healthcare Technical Systems (HTS) consulting services and their FreightTrain® web-based software system to manage this complex project. The Los Angeles-based consulting firm specializing in building Commissioning, including Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing (MEP) coordination and overall project management as well as healthcare Transition Planning services, implemented its existing FreightTrain® software to streamline the commissioning process for the Downey center. HTS' services included coordinating with KP-Downey to develop a technical specification to customize the existing Room Completion Database (RCD). Flowcharts, screenshots, and typical reports were delivered by HTS for review and comment by KP-Downey. In order to comply with its client's needs, HTS developed code and performed alpha and beta testing of the applications, as well as applicable user testing on the FreightTrain.com website. After testing was completed, HTS developed training materials and coordinated presentation of RCD training to KP-Downey personnel.
The two phases of construction were scheduled to be completed in 2005 and 2008, but McCarthy and HTS' dedicated partnership on this benchmark project achieved certificate of occupancy 106 days ahead of schedule, at $46 million below budget. "FreightTrain® allowed subcontractors and field staff to understand where their inspection stood and see their issues in real time. This greatly improved the QC process, leading to a 90% first inspection pass rate," noted a McCarthy Project Manager on the promptly met deadlines for the center. The FreightTrain® software, which launched in 2002, uses custom Visual Fragnets® and Metrics and Analysis to communicate and track construction status quickly and effectively. On realizing the most important role played by the web-based software, one McCarthy Construction Senior Project Manager concluded, "FreightTrain® prevented small issues from becoming larger ones."
To find out more information on how your company can beat deadlines and budget costs, please contact Bill Clemenson wmclemenson@consulthts.com
About FreightTrain
Founded in 2002, FreightTrain®, a division of HTS, LLC, provides graphical, web-based systems for construction management. FreightTrain's room-based database provides instant access to project status and a common framework for communication between owner, contractor, subcontractors and inspectors. Our tablet PC’s enable instant field updates of construction status. Our Visual Fragnet® drawings provide colorized maps of construction status by date and by any selected parameter.
FreightTrain® has been used on construction projects totaling over $5B in value. Our users report significantly reduced construction costs, better quality, improved communication between all parties to the construction process, and faster project completion.
About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. was founded in 1864 by an Irish immigrant named Timothy McCarthy. The general contracting firm is now one of the largest and most diversified construction companies in America. For 138 years, we were primarily a family owned business. That changed in 2002 when the company became 100% employee owned. Each of us now has a personal — and financial — stake in the company's future, and each of us now has a greater responsibility to each other to innovate and provide real value. The net result is an empowering environment that is entrepreneurial in nature, and is directed towards providing our clients with creative and value-oriented building solutions.
back
