Healthcare Design - April 2015 - 46

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models aren't exactly user friendly without some
industry expertise, new technologies are helping to
simplify things. Users can essentially walk through
and experience a building-see what it's like to
stand in an entryway, check out the paint colors, or
"touch" a surface-with virtual reality tools.
There are currently two types of virtual reality
technologies that are being beta tested on Suffolk
Construction Co. job sites: virtual reality headsets
and CAVE (computer augmented virtual environment) technology. Virtual reality headsets allow
users to move through a building much like one
would in a video game. In this instance, the user is
experiencing the world but not directly engaging
with it.
With CAVE technology, the user can actually
experience and engage with the building. In a
CAVE walkthrough, the user stands on a green
screen that's filled with the model. When the user
puts on 3-D glasses, the model comes to life and
he or she can begin exploring-ducking under piping, entering doorways, turning corners, etc. As the
user moves, the model moves, too, and it becomes
a completely immersive experience.
It's this immersion that adds so much value to
virtual reality tools. It takes away the complexity of
a BIM model and allows the average person-doctors, surgeons, healthcare facility managers-to be
in a space and assess it, long before construction
starts. They can then provide feedback on the
design and layout, allowing changes to be made
in the model as opposed to in the field, where it's
much more costly.
Drones
Healthcare projects are taking advantage of drone
technology by attaching cameras to the devices
to gather progress photos on a daily basis. These
photos can then be used to manage project documentation, inspections, and safety compliance.
While it may seem like a simple tool, this is the first
time that the construction industry has been able
to document, in real-time, construction progress
on such a regular basis. It means that contractors
can visually guarantee owners of the quality, safety,
and structure of a building.
Additionally, drone cameras can be used to inspect hard-to-reach or extremely high sectors of a
hospital. For example, photographing the welds on
a structural connection on the 30th floor of a building traditionally would require a crane, tremendous
amounts of time, and a fair bit of trial and error to
ensure that the picture captures exactly what it
needs to. This may have been done on a weekly
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or even biweekly basis given the effort it required.
Today, however, drones can photograph the 30th
floor multiple times in a day with minimal effort.
They're able to go where no crane can enter, such
as elevator shafts and narrow corridors, which
enables more complete quality assurance and
inspection across the project.

Thanks to drones outfitted with cameras, the
construction industry can easily document, in realtime, construction progress on a regular basis and
more easily inspect hard-to-reach areas of a site.
The images and documentation generated
from the drone images can be provided to the
owner at the end of the project as a record of the
quality of the building design at every layer and
every floor-from the welding to the beam placement to the steel structure, drywall, and paint-
and serve as a visual representation of how the
model came to life.
3-D printing
While drones are being used to capture the asbuilt status of healthcare construction projects,
3-D printers are being used to produce physical
models that help owners visualize their buildings
or specific building components. With 3-D printing, construction teams can create laser-accurate
building components of any shape and size with
pinpoint accuracy so they can be prefabricated
offsite and more easily assembled on a project
site for a faster, more cost-effective construction
process. For example, there's tremendous value
in creating a physical, scalable model of two steel
elements of a building to show exactly how they'll
fit together.
In an industry known for complexity, it's no
surprise that we're seeing new technologies and
processes emerge to reshape the healthcare construction jobsite, all of which are major contributors to simplifying processes, eliminating waste,
and increasing speed of delivery. HCD
Jason Seaburg is senior project manager for
Suffolk Construction Co. He can be reached at
jseaburg@suffolk.com.

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Healthcare Design - April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - April 2015