IHEEM Conference 2009
Health-Specific Building Services
Specifications Utilising New Technology
– The Way Forward
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Introductions
Speaker :
Ian Elmer
Technical Services Manager
AMTECH Group
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Historical Approach
•
The Department of Health Estates and Facilities division produces
guidance for NHS organisations and individuals with an interest in land,
property, equipment and facilities.
•
This information can be used to support the effective management and
utilisation of healthcare facilities and equipment and procurement of
new buildings.
•
This takes the form of:
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Historical Approach
Health Building Notes
(HBN) - advice to project
teams designing and
planning new buildings and
adapting/extending existing
buildings
Health Technical
Memoranda (HTM) guidance for the design,
installation and running of
specialised building service
systems.
Historically, these were supported by....
The Model Engineering
Specification (MES) –
produced to define
standards for building
services for NHS projects
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What was the MES?
• The basic concept of the Model Engineering Specification was
the provision of a set of documents which could be used to
specify particular engineering applications found in NHS
properties
• The documents were intended to be quoted in contract
documents in the same way that British and European standards
are quoted.
• They were read in conjunction with the relevant HTM and HBN
documents
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What was the MES?
•
The various parts of the
Model Engineering
Specification covered all
main aspects of a Building
Services project, from
general terms and
conditions to technical
sections for plant and
equipment.
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Historical Approach
• However, whilst the HTM and HBN documents have been revised
periodically over the years, the MES was not and is currently archived
as a working document:
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The Solution
•
Although it is clear that the specific healthcare-based engineering
elements covered in the old MES documents need reviewing and
updating, it is not the intention to reproduce the Model Engineering
Specification in its previous hard-copy format.
•
The Department of Health favour an ‘electronic’ approach to providing
the new healthcare specific building services data.
•
Once completed, the new data will be available in two formats:
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The Solution
• Option 1
Provide the healthcare specific clauses as an ‘add-on’ facility to an
existing specification writing software application to ensure that
healthcare projects produced are healthcare compatible and compliant.
• Option 2
Provide an electronic ‘reference only’ version of the healthcare
information, which NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts in England
could view as a separate entity.
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Option 1
•
In order to incorporate the new healthcare clauses in electronic format,
a suitable ‘host’ application needed to be found which had the correct
infrastructure in place.
•
One such application is the National Engineering Specification (nes),
which already has a large building services engineering database and
existing sections that are ready to incorporate the new healthcare data:
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Option 1
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Option 1
•
Using an established specification writing tool to host the new
healthcare information offers a number of advantages:
1) There is already an established infrastructure in place in which to easily
slot in the new data.
2) A significant amount of the core engineering data required to create the
healthcare specification is already available in the application.
3) There is the facility to set up master specifications once work is
complete in order to save time on future projects.
4) There is an existing customer base of users who understand the way
the product operates, reducing the learning curve for many.
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Option 1
•
The Department of Health have commissioned a consultancy to create
the new healthcare content based on the original content of the MES
and taking into account the information already available in the HTM
and HBN documents.
•
This will then be combined with the core engineering elements already
present in the nes database to produce a healthcare compliant
specification.
•
This is best demonstrated by breaking down the MES into its
component parts and correlating it with the content of the National
Engineering Specification...
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Option 1
MES Part A – Standard General Conditions and Preliminary Clauses
•
•
Whilst historically the Model Engineering Specification had clauses for
specifying standard general conditions and preliminaries contained in
Part A of the document, it is considered that these are also out of date
and can effectively be substituted by a companies own standard
preliminary clauses.
However, if required, the ‘A’ sections present in the nes database can
be used to specify general conditions and preliminaries...
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Option 1
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Option 1
MES Part B – General Clauses Common to Building Services Plant
and Equipment
•
•
Part B of the Model Engineering Specification contained general
building services clauses that were written to avoid having to repeat the
same common services information several times in the specification
The National Engineering Specification takes a similar approach to
specifying common clauses by containing them in one section...
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Option 1
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Option 1
MES Part C – Particular Technical Sections for Building Services
Plant and Equipment
•
•
The Part C documents of the Model Engineering Specification covered
specific service elements (e.g. Medical Gases, Generator Sets, Nurse
Call Systems) and were used to set out the accepted basic standard of
technical requirement for healthcare projects.
Part of this information already exists within the core engineering
database of the National Engineering Specification, but where specific
information is not included, additional clauses will be added to the
database...
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Option 1
•
For example, Clause C05-02 of Model Engineering Specification
Section C11 (Medical Gases) stated:
....Pipe sizes and manufacture to be to BS 2871 Part 1 Table X and to include the marking
“DEG” or “degreased”, in addition to the marking requirements of BS 2871, to represent
compliance with Element, 01 Clause 04.
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Option 1
• nes contains clauses that cover the specification of copper pipework to
BS EN 1057 (which has superseded BS 2871) in its existing database:
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Option 1
•
In instances where specific healthcare data is required that is not
present in the existing nes database, it will be added as a new clause in
the appropriate place.
•
For example, whilst the existing nes database includes a clause for
specifying vacuum pumps, there is no clause for AGSS pumps.
•
A new nes clause will therefore be written and added to the database:
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Option 1
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Option 1
MES Part D – Detailed Description of the Works
•
Part D of the Model Engineering Specification contained detailed
requirements and design descriptions that were not contained in the
other parts of the specification. Typically it contained elements such as:
•
Scope of works for the project
•
Schedules of drawings
•
Performance and design requirements
•
Access to and description of site
•
Commissioning and acceptance requirements
•
Schedules of items and materials
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Option 1
MES Part D – Detailed Description of the Works contd\...
•
A large number of these Part D elements (such as site descriptions and
commissioning requirements) are covered in the existing nes database.
•
For the elements that are not covered, there is facility within nes to
input these as required...
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Option 1
•
Detailed
design
descriptions
and scope
can be
inserted in
Part 1 of each
nes section
under
‘System
objectives’
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Option 1
•
The new
healthcare
clauses will
contain
additional
references to
the HTM
documents
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Option 1
•
The
equipment
schedules
present in the
database can
also be used
to schedule
items and
materials
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Option 1
MES Designers Notes
•
•
For each MES section, a set of companion designers notes were
provided for guidance purposes.
These designer notes are now covered by a combination of the
enhanced designer information now given in the HTM’s and the onscreen guidance notes that accompany nes:
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Option 1
•
So... By adopting this methodology and applying it to the sections and
schedules available in the nes database, you have the tools necessary
to complete a healthcare compliant building services specification...
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The Solution
Health Building Notes
(HBN)
nes core engineering
clauses
+
Health Technical
Memoranda (HTM)
+
Combined
with
+
Company standard
general conditions and
preliminary clauses
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nes healthcare
engineering clauses
=
HEALTHCARE COMPLIANT
SPECIFICATION!
Option 2
•
As an alternative to the incorporation of healthcare clauses into an
existing specification writing tool, the Department of Health also
expressed a desire to provide a ‘reference-only’ document, which the
NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts could view separately from the
fully editable specification package.
•
This option would be read-only, with no facility for editing, downloading
or publishing the content but would act as an electronic library of
requirements for the trusts to use as guidance for healthcare projects.
•
The chosen location for the read only content to be housed will be
determined presently but among the options being considered are...
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Option 2
•
The Department of
Health’s Knowledge
Information Portal
(KIP)
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Option 2
•
Using nes
as the
host, with a
special
read-only
licence
provided...
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Timescales
•
•
It is envisaged that roll-out of the healthcare information will commence
in the first quarter of 2010.
The healthcare version of nes is planned to coincide with the release of
the next generation of the software, which has been written to allow for
the incorporation of industry specific content such as the healthcare
compliant clauses and manufacturer’s data...
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Option 2
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In Summary
•
The main aspects of the healthcare specification content work currently
being completed are as follows:
1) The old MES documents are now considered out of date and have been
archived by the DoH
2) The MES will now be replaced by new healthcare data, available in
electronically in the following formats:
•
Healthcare engineering clauses hosted within the framework of a
specification writing tool (nes) where it can be edited and published
into specification format.
•
A ‘reference-only’ document, which the NHS trusts and NHS
foundation trusts could view separately from the fully editable
specification package.
.../contd
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In Summary
3) The core engineering and healthcare data, combined with the relevant
HTM and HBN documents and company standard general conditions
and preliminary clauses will allow users to produce healthcare
compliant building services specifications.
4) These specifications can be set up as master documents for use in
future projects.
5) It is planned to commence roll-out of the new healthcare clauses in the
first quarter of 2010.
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Questions
Thank
you and
questions
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