Octa was engaged to provide programme and project management services to the Waikato DHB for significant projects within the Waiora Building.
Seismic Strengthening: Building was deemed earthquake prone by territorial authority. Octa led engineering design and peer review followed by construction to improve the seismic rating. Cost of works was approximately 10% of the estimate, the remainder was returned to the Ministry following confirmation from the territorial authority that the building is no longer earthquake prone.
Intensive Care Unit: Design and construction of a clinical care unit to for pressurized rooms for pandemics such as Covid-19 and contagious diseases to enable staff to administer the health care they need within a controlled environment.
ED: The Emergency Department for the Waikato is in the Waiora building. The space was redesigned to provide appropriate room for screening, security and waiting. Design allowed for improved separation, social distancing, and dedicated consult/assessment spaces for patient privacy. The works were done in a live environment, ED services continued to operate during construction.
COVID Lab Upgrade: PC2 compliance for molecular laboratory arose following Covid-19 to improve the lab space. The upgrade includes improving reception areas to provide a sense of welcome to staff and visitors and the wider hospital community. The lab has been designed so that it can easily be scaled up many times normal operation in case of a pandemic.
UNIQUE ASPECTS
Staged work was programmed to fit with the Waikato DHB’s need to remain fully operational throughout, with a focus on safety for patients, staff and the wider community. Noise and dust are major issues that confront any construction activities in a live hospital environment.
Specialist dustproof and acoustic hoarding were designed to maintain hospital controls in live areas.
Octa developed a noise plan for this project that has since been implemented as the TWOW standard.
