You may have seen in the news that China is creating two large hospitals in a 2 week period for the Corona virus response, using separately-fabricated sections. You can watch a live stream of it in progress here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrIKdDCNNKY
My question- this rapid building approach is common in China, for all sorts of buildings. How do the costs compare of this versus more traditional approaches, is there any research evidence available? Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Maybe the cost are not so relevant, given that the hospital is usable 2 years or so earlier than a traditional hospital, hence benefits are creating value for 2 more years. Put that in ROI or NPV. And another benefit maybe the quicker reaction to crisis.
The feed is interesting but not live, it is about 11 at night in China and the feed is in full daylight. It would be nice to have an accelerated video, maybe once the project is finished.
Using prefabricated parts to do a construction project is used more than we might think. It has many benefits, provides an interior environment to build the part, so no impact from the weather for example. Often the part is cheaper to build compared to building on site. I don't know for China but here the Construction workers are not pay the same as workers in an industry, some more saving.
I know of a hospital project that did it for the bathroom of each patient room, what is left is to connect plumbing and electricity.
...
1 reply by Tim PM
Jan 31, 2020 11:48 AM
Tim PM
...
Yes, you are right, I think it is about 3 hours delayed, it is dark there now in the video but sunset on the video was 3-4 hours ago, when actually sunset there happened was 6-7 hours ago.
We use prefab construction here too, but in nothing like these timescales, and I very much agree with Thomas's point about earlier benefit realisation too. This really does seem a win-win approach.
However , I'm not sure I would like a near-live webcast of progress on my own projects, too many new stakeholders to manage then!
The feed is interesting but not live, it is about 11 at night in China and the feed is in full daylight. It would be nice to have an accelerated video, maybe once the project is finished.
Using prefabricated parts to do a construction project is used more than we might think. It has many benefits, provides an interior environment to build the part, so no impact from the weather for example. Often the part is cheaper to build compared to building on site. I don't know for China but here the Construction workers are not pay the same as workers in an industry, some more saving.
I know of a hospital project that did it for the bathroom of each patient room, what is left is to connect plumbing and electricity.
Yes, you are right, I think it is about 3 hours delayed, it is dark there now in the video but sunset on the video was 3-4 hours ago, when actually sunset there happened was 6-7 hours ago.
We use prefab construction here too, but in nothing like these timescales, and I very much agree with Thomas's point about earlier benefit realisation too. This really does seem a win-win approach.
However , I'm not sure I would like a near-live webcast of progress on my own projects, too many new stakeholders to manage then!
...
1 reply by Vincent Guerard
Feb 17, 2020 8:30 PM
Vincent Guerard
...
In many projects I was in there was webcast, some install by the client! Nothing you can do about those. Mostly the level of detail is not sufficient to be of concern.
Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Tim
Interesting your question
Thanks for sharing
The construction of these hospitals was an emergency
I don't think it was a cost analysis and a budget
It will only be possible to know:
1. What is the investment in these hospitals after they are built and if there is data to do so
2. If hospitals fulfill all the necessary requirements for an installation of this nature Saving Changes...
I watched a vid on YT about someone from inside China who was covering the nCor virus. He spoke to the workers building one of the hospitals and they are working 20+ hrs per day with only 3-4 hrs sleep. He stated that the hospitals are actually quite empty now because people are not going there (in large numbers) as they have insufficient test kits and supplies. So it will be interesting to see what happens. Having a hospital is just one part of the equation. You still need beds, medicine, doctors, nurses, admins staff etc. It reminds me of a story an old Russian colleague once told me. Shortly after WWII, the Soviet government wanted to build a massive airstrip in a very remote area of the country. They gathered up all the engineers and workers and laid out the plan. The plan was very aggressive, just like in China. Someone spoke up and said it was impossible to complete the airstrip in the desired time. He was promptly escorted outside where he was executed, and the remaining workers were asked if they had any more questions. The airstrip was finished on time. There is no bigger motivator than a deadline, especially if your life is on the line. I wish them the best of luck.
...
1 reply by Olakunle Fadun
Feb 16, 2020 4:28 PM
Olakunle Fadun
...
You won't get a better motivation when your life is on the line! That's some crazy 18th century leadership style.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
You need to understand the whole picture about how China has created construction based industry as one of their pillars for being "a monster" as a country in the last years. I can write a lot here but just make a research about they start with a strategy in that sence and then created all needed to have internal low costs thanks high quality related to all the components in the industry. For example, they construct their on machines based on AI and addiotional to that they created Universities (yes, Universities) where people that are driven and are programming those machines were trained. For example, you can see how a Chinesse operator of those machines can paint a picture using a mechanical shovel and a paint brush. So, cost and time is not a matter when you use high quality standards. Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Tim
I mostly agree with Vincent. I worked in China for 3 years and one of the offices that I was managing was in Wuhan so I sort of understand their capabilities and can relate.
As Vincent mentioned, the hourly rate for labor is much less and those sort of pre-fab buildings are very efficient and can serve the purpose as a temporary hospital so definitely saves money. There are certain limitations for using pre-fabs like height, and other specs especially when used as a hospital but as far I saw in the video, they are doing horizontal construction.
I watched a vid on YT about someone from inside China who was covering the nCor virus. He spoke to the workers building one of the hospitals and they are working 20+ hrs per day with only 3-4 hrs sleep. He stated that the hospitals are actually quite empty now because people are not going there (in large numbers) as they have insufficient test kits and supplies. So it will be interesting to see what happens. Having a hospital is just one part of the equation. You still need beds, medicine, doctors, nurses, admins staff etc. It reminds me of a story an old Russian colleague once told me. Shortly after WWII, the Soviet government wanted to build a massive airstrip in a very remote area of the country. They gathered up all the engineers and workers and laid out the plan. The plan was very aggressive, just like in China. Someone spoke up and said it was impossible to complete the airstrip in the desired time. He was promptly escorted outside where he was executed, and the remaining workers were asked if they had any more questions. The airstrip was finished on time. There is no bigger motivator than a deadline, especially if your life is on the line. I wish them the best of luck.
You won't get a better motivation when your life is on the line! That's some crazy 18th century leadership style. Saving Changes...
There hasn't been much conversations on how quality, health and safety was managed. Deploying so much resources to on a project could potentially come up with unanticipated coordination issues. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
As mentioned I do not believe the cost was a factor but I would imagine that if we do not have an accelerated schedule a modular approach is cheaper. Manufacturing anything that is custom requires more funding in comparison to using standard components. In this instance working 24/7 might have blown the budget :) Saving Changes...
Community Champion
