Winterton Unit LINAC
This exceptional facility comprised the construction of two large concrete bunkers as well as additional consulting and orthovoltage treatment rooms, which increased the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital’s radiotherapy capacity by a third. The concrete bunkers were built using over 1,200m³ of specialist concrete and the orthovoltage treatment room was lined with 7.9mm of lead to provide protection against radiation. The contract was completed ahead of schedule despite an initial delay of 8 weeks whilst establishing a firm brief in order for the Radiation Protection Advisor to complete their design.
The successful delivery of a technically complex scheme such as this required precise adherence to Health Technical Memoranda (HTM) standards with clear communication and robust control of the decision making process with collaborative working from all parties. The Design and Build approach to this type of facility is somewhat unusual as the incorporation of an RPA (Radiation Protection Advisor) within the design process is more often carried out by the Client’s specialist team. However, this contractual dynamic allowed us to offer a fast-track project delivery option via a negotiated open book mechanism within the protective structure of a GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price). The GMP Construct Condition was very effective and set out a clear shared cost saving for completing within the GMP in an open book process where any additional costs within the Contract Sum were shared 50/50.
Constructing a new building adjacent to a 24/7 Accident and Emergency facility presented a range of challenges that had to be addressed within our construction strategy. In addition to ensure that the hospital’s bluelight route was not interrupted, the new building was located exactly adjacent to the existing helicopter landing pad, which necessitated the creation of a temporary landing pad and required our team to adhere to aviation safety protocols in terms of building design and construction strategy. Through detailed preconstruction planning which included key project stakeholders we were able to proactively address the project challenges and constraints in order to achieve an incident-free build 8 weeks ahead of schedule. Our team also achieved an exceptionally high Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) score (40/50) for the project.
