HCSHQ_102021

Page 4 — Health Care & Senior Housing Quarterly — October 2021 www.crej.com HEALTH CARE — OUTLOOK T he supply chain disruption for everything from cars to lum- ber to food due to the COVID- 19 pandemic has altered our personal worlds and the world of construction. Grocery store shelves are sometimes empty. Companies are waiting longer than normal to receive needed supplies or products. Even used car prices can be higher than the original purchase price when new. The design and construction indus- try has not been immune from these supply chain disruptions.We must find potential ways to mitigate the challenges posed by a volatile supply chain to ensure projects still can be effectively delivered, making a best attempt to keep projects on budget and on schedule. As the health practice leader in our Denver office, I’m used to manag- ing the various challenges that come with delivering a complex health care project. But dealing with extreme shortages of raw materials, trans- portation issues and labor shortfalls has made meeting client and project expectations more challenging than ever. By now I’m sure we’re all famil- iar with the dread of picking up the phone to find that lead times are increasing for nearly every product on a construction project. Elevators now are 24 weeks out instead of 12; steel joists now are 16 weeks out instead of two. Meanwhile even Authority Hav- ing Jurisdiction departments are not immune to staffing shortages, and review times for permits and approv- als are longer than ever. As materi- als are delayed, costs for extended general conditions get added to con- struction.We just heard on a project that subcontractor pricing was valid for just 48 hours – this is unheard of, but understandable. Everyone is trying to protect themselves from market condi- tions. Here’s a recent example of the unexpected impact. Typically, furniture is not viewed as a key driver of a construction schedule – it’s something moved in at the end and usually can overlap the project’s activation phase. How- ever, on behavioral health projects, the furniture often must be part of the built environment, particularly in patient bedrooms. Furniture items such as beds, nightstands and chairs typically are bolted down, rubber base cut to accommodate pieces, and items caulked and installed by the contractor earlier in construction than normal. The type of furniture and the installation of it is crucial to patient and staff safety in these envi- ronments, and a facility cannot open without all of it in place and tested. For a behavioral health project under construction, we are in con- stant communication with the vendor to confirm lead times. Three months ago, the lead time was six weeks. Two months ago, the lead had changed to eight weeks. On calling last month, we were informed the lead had stretched to 12 weeks. As we get clos- er to finalizing and placing the order, what will it be? The short answer is that no one knows. This creates a situation where soon enough the fur- niture delivery is bumping up against the construction schedule. How might we as design and con- struction teams navigate these uncer- tainties? In this instance, earlier than normal procurement is the path for attempt- ing to mitigate the risks in the fur- niture supply chain issue. However, this brings other pressures on both labor and cost. The material must be properly stored and protected, and nobody wants to move it twice. There of course are cost impacts to this strategy. This is just one example of what teams – and owners – currently are facing. On a recent project, it became apparent that getting the new elevator Supply chain disruptions require lots of creativity Stacey Root Senior vice president, CannonDesign Laura Peters/CannonDesign The furniture in patient rooms in behavioral health projects often must be part of the built environment. Furniture items such as beds, nightstands and chairs typically are bolted down, rubber base cut to accommodate pieces, and items caulked and installed by the contractor earlier in construction than normal. With current supply chain dis- ruptions, these types of projects are having to get creative to ensure furniture issues don’t hold up the whole project. Please see Root, Page 13