Constructing Excellence in Wales

Overview

The Designed for Life: Building for Wales framework (DfL) managed by Welsh Health Estates (WHE) has an ambitious goal: no less than to change the face of healthcare facilities procurement across Wales. DfL was designed to deliver the world-class healthcare and social services envisioned by the Welsh Assembly Government in its policy document Designed for Life.

It is a vast undertaking. The framework has a budget of around £1.7bn and represents a ten-year work stream. It is used by Wales’ six Health Boards and three NHS Trusts for the design and delivery of healthcare projects with a capital value above £6m.

In creating the framework, WHE aimed to capture the latest thinking and best practice in construction procurement. DfL is based on a procurement model that embraces ‘Rethinking Construction’ and ‘Achieving Excellence’, delivering long-term strategic partnerships, integrated supply chains and collaborative working. It represents a significant break with the existing processes used by the NHS.

Process

The process began with extensive consultation, involving NHS bodies across Wales, the Office of Government Commerce, industry and sector leaders, other Welsh government departments and market leaders in collaborative working. In March 2006 WHE appointed support consultants and three Supply Chain Partners – Laing O’Rourke, BAM Construction and Interserve. Following a series of workshops designed to address specific tasks, DfL went live in July 2006.

WHE’s small team of five oversees the framework, working in partnership with Healthcare Trusts and the three SCPs. The team is accountable to a Strategic Framework Board comprising key sector and industry stakeholders. This keeps an eye on the running of the projects and reviews the performance of all stakeholders through formal KPI processes.

Consultants, contractors and NHS clients work together on a project by project basis, ensuring that all stakeholders are involved from the start and that issues are openly discussed. Costs and budgeting are simplified through use of contracts which have been pre-agreed based on the OGC-endorsed NEC3 suite of contracts. Only specific project details need to be added to enable contracts to be completed.

WHE recognised that a cultural shift was required to embrace this new way of working and facilitated training workshops and roadshows for key NHS staff, SCPs and SCs as appropriate. R&D workshops were set up to encourage use of innovative design and construction techniques.

As DfL projects progressed, WHE held workshops to ensure that lessons learned from each project were widely shared. Knowledge was also shared with similar frameworks across the UK, and examples of external best practice were integrated.

Results

The framework has enjoyed a positive impact. So far only two projects have been completed – both on time and on budget – but it is clear that schemes are reaching site stage faster than via normal procurement processes. The judges described the governance and overall structure put in place by WHE as ‘impressive and comprehensive’.

Key benefits of the framework include improved healthcare facilities for patients, staff and visitors, higher quality, and the avoidance of costly mistakes through the sharing of knowledge and learning between SCPs and up and down the supply chain. There have been significant moves towards standardisation of design principles proven to have a positive effect on patient outcomes.

Sustainability has been prioritised through WHE’s adoption of BREEAM Healthcare, requiring all DfL buildings to achieve ‘excellence’ for new build and ‘very good’ for refurbishment. Sustainable technology has been promoted and included into building services design, such as incorporation of wood chip boilers at two projects.

The judges also noted the commitment of WHE and its partners to the use of local labour and subcontractors. Of the total construction value currently on site, 60% has been let to Welsh-based companies. The SCPs have actively assisted local companies to gain access to DfL projects, through ‘meet the buyer’ events, for example.

WHE’s successful implementation of the DfL framework has moved the construction industry forward in terms of project delivery and supply chain. Its approach has been proven to maximise value for money at a time of financial constraint, and it has the potential to deliver genuine change for Wales.