R.J. Griffin & Co. of Atlanta overcame regulatory hurdles, record winter storms and a steady stream of visitors to complete HCA’s $96-million, 282,358-sq-ft Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center in Fredericksburg, Va., on time and within budget.
R.J. Griffin released the sitework and concrete contracts on the fast-track greenfield project early, before receiving construction drawings, to fulfill state certificate-of-need requirements that all footings be complete by Aug. 31, 2008, a little more than three months after breaking ground. The team also let the steel and MEP contracts early.
That winter, the area received more than 50 in. of snow, closing roads necessary to access the site. The sitework contractor cleared roadways and parking areas to avoid job closures, but minimal workers showed up.
All of R.J. Griffin’s team members relocated to Fredericksburg and lived onsite to oversee day-to-day processes. They kept the site open up to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, so subcontractors could work overtime and make up days related to the weather delays. To maintain morale, they brought in home-prepared meals and held cookouts most weekends.
Complicating the 126-bed project, hospital personnel used the site as a staff recruiting tool, hosting parties and community tours and moving into the building a month before receiving the final certificate of occupancy, which created security and safety issues.
R.J. Griffin split the public relations duties among four project management staff, allowing the rest of the team to focus on the construction.
The team used building information modeling for clash detection and coordination and web conferencing for weekly meetings.
R.J. Griffin completed Spotsylvania Regional in March 2010 with zero lost-time accidents and zero Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations. The contractor required all major trades to have a safety plan, to meet weekly with their staff about safety and to have a full-time safety person onsite once their employee numbers hit 50 or greater.
Key Players
Developer/Owner: HCA Inc.
Contractor: R. J. Griffin & Co.
Architect: Earl Swensson Associates
Civil Engineer: Fairbanks & Franklin
Structural Engineer: Structural Design Group
MEP Engineer: IC Thomasson & Associates
