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Proactive Communication: The Key to Healthcare Equipment Procurement for Construction Projects
University of California, Irvine & UCI Health: A Case study
On November 16, 2021 the University of California, Irvine and UCI Health announced they had broken ground on a $1.3B medical complex. By early 2022 we were in conversation with UCI and equipment planners, Mazzetti GBA about the procurement of medical equipment for the 225,000 square foot Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building.
We leveraged our focused medical equipment expertise and assisted with the creation of the product specifications list and medical equipment standardization efforts by providing samples for UCI’s mock showroom warehouse.
Our quote incorporated 80% of the product specification list, over 4500 pieces of equipment across 425 different product categories.
In addition to managing the procurement of medical equipment across multiple manufacturers, our project management team is playing a critical role in coordinating the timely delivery and assembly of Owner Furnished Contractor Installed (OFCI) Group 1 Medical equipment.
Against the backdrop of tight timelines and stringent regulatory requirements, we are serving as an extension of the UCI team with logistics that have been customized to the needs of the contactor(s) but are also flexible to accommodate the unexpected and unique asks that are part of a construction project of this magnitude.
"This project, and every project I am apart of, would not be successful without the support that I have internally at CME. From the Customer Service team entering the orders, to my dedicated Project Manager, to the Purchasing team, over to the Warehouse and Receiving team, and finally the Direct To Site Services team and installers. It takes a village to make a project of this size successful and at CME you get it all."
Matt Poyma, Southern California Account Manager
Project Management
Communication at its Best
CME’s project management (PM) team is comprised of professionals dedicated to this project, from start to finish. They are the central point of contact and are responsible for proactively communicating with the contractors, Mazzetti, UCI representatives and internal CME teams. This continuous level of communication is essential for the seamless coordination of all aspects of this complex medical construction project.
For the construction stage of the project our PMs have implemented the following communication strategies:
Weekly Tracker Reports: Sent weekly tracking reports to key stakeholders and engaged in weekly phone calls with the third-party equipment planner, Mazzetti GBA.
The tracking reports include information about the status of OFCI and CME sourced items stored in our warehouse, the room location of items delivered to the site, and the assembly status of the equipment.
Communication with the Warehouse Logistic Team: The PM maintains open communication with the warehouse logistics team to plan delivery of Group 1 equipment within the strict delivery windows and coordinate those deliveries around the schedules of other vendors on site.
Our teams have demonstrated their flexibility with days starting as early as 3 am to load trucks that arrived after hours the day before.
Logistics & Direct-to-Site Delivery & Installation
CME’s logistics, direct-to-site delivery and installation services are one of a kind within the healthcare industry. Our logistics and DTS teams do it all … receive direct and CME sourced medical equipment to the warehouse, off-site staging, inside delivery, disbursement, and wall mounting.
Warehousing: Storing 4,500 individual pieces of medical equipment, including OFCI items, for a single project requires warehousing flexibility. For this project we strategically allocated warehouse space to accommodate the wide variety of equipment and eliminate the need for UCI to source and staff additional warehouse space.
Delivery and Installation: As the facility is nearing the July 2024 completion date and floors are being put down, we are installing temporary floor protection throughout the building to prevent damage caused by the hand trucks used to transport equipment to rooms for installation or scuffs from the work boots worn by the construction and delivery crews operating on site.
As with any construction site, “parking” areas at the new Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care facility will be paved as one of the last tasks performed. To prevent damage to the equipment being delivered, our DTS teams placed plywood over the more rugged and uneven sections of the area to reduce jostling of the truck.
To help streamline the workflows of the contractors, our DTS teams deliver assembled Group 1 equipment to the service locations within the facility ready for the contractor to anchor and/or install. This added level of service eliminates the time-consuming steps of retrieving the pallets of unassembled equipment from the central receiving dock, transporting them to the proper locations, and preparing them for installation.