Procurement high priority for hospital project

Renovations to the Royal Melbourne Children’s Hospital have brought together Australia’s leading building materials companies, with procurement placed as a high priority for the project.

“The needs of hospitals are unique compared to other commercial projects. Using robust, long lasting materials with high impact performance that needed minimal maintenance was a priority,” remarked project engineer Jay Garoni of Bovis Lend Lease. “We made a point of procuring locally where we could to support the Australian building industry and we reached a good balance with price and availability.”

Garoni worked with architectural joint partners Billard Leece and Bates Smart on the design and building procurement, with the objective of selecting building materials that would withstand the rough and tumble of a hospital environment and help ensure the ongoing health of patients, staff and visitors.

Materials therefore had to be hard-wearing and hygienic, leading to the use of Construction Specialties (CS) Expansion Joints, which have a protective layer to prevent dirt or moisture building up inside the joint. The procurement team also used CS Acrovyn corner guards.

General manager of Construction Specialties Bill Maloukis says he has seen an increase in demand for CS products in hospital environments. “Just this past 12 months we’ve worked on dozens of major hospital developments and upgrades including Norwest Private Hospital, Macquarie University Private Hospital and Alburn Hospital supplying tens of thousands of square metres of product.”

He added: “This is really a testament to the importance of the building industry offering highly specific solutions for the unique requirements of the hospital environment.”

The $900 million project will see the hospital re-open to the public in December 2011.