Over a seven-month period, the facility management team on our Northern Beaches Hospital contract collaborated with our sub-contractors and subject matter experts to pull together all our reporting and tracking systems into one centrally accessible dashboard. They call it the 'command centre'.
Facility Manager Matthew Wagg says locating all the data in one centralized location, across a number of screens in the maintenance office, allows the team to more easily track what's happening on site and make better asset management decisions.
Providing an overarching view of what's going on across the facility in one spot improves our ability to make quick decisions, which can be crucial when you're working in a hospital.
"From the work order management system, to the building management system or BMS, to the system the lifts operate off, known as E Link, it's all visible in one spot," Matt says.
Innovations with the client in focus
Contract Manager Andrew Foster says innovations on the contract are always done with the needs of the client, Healthscope, in mind.
"Implementation of improvements like our command centre help drive down total cost of ownership through better usage of resources across the facility," Andrew says.
It allows the team to spend more time proactively solving complex issues rather than reacting to issues.
Having all data available in one location allows the team to easily track what's happening on site.
Working together on innovation
Collaboration is key to success on Ventia contracts, and this was no different.
Tech partners Conservia and Alerton were engaged to pull this all together, which Matt says meant we were able to attain a BMS that helps achieve the most efficient use of energy and smart alarming across the facility. They did a great job ensuring things like data security, contingency planning in case of things like power outages, and usability were top of mind.
"Whenever you're combining multiple systems into one location, there are considerations around cyber security as well as how those systems will interact or display with each other," Matt notes. "We needed to ensure everything was secure, but also that end users could easily navigate through all the data being presented and be able to easily see what the issues are so they can be resolved."
A balance of tech and experience
Matt and his colleague, Technical Manager Lester Browett, point out that the successful management of this contract is not all down to the tech though. Having experienced facility managers in the team also helps ensure that issues get picked up even before systems may notice something not right.
When you've worked in a facility long enough, you know just walking into a room when something isn't right.
"The machinery sounds off, or the temperature doesn't feel right," Lester explains.
Matt and Lester say there are plenty more innovations where this one came from, with plans to investigate AI technology to enhance the command centre capabilities, add in other services, and consider tech such as smart glasses that could enable 3D site walk throughs.
The team has fondly nicknamed the dashboard 'the command centre'. It is placed in the hospital's maintenance office.
Northern Beaches Hospital
Ventia was awarded the facility maintenance contract for the Northern Beaches Hospital by Healthscope in October 2017, to support its delivery of quality healthcare for patients.
Through the contract, we deliver the hospital's hard facilities services including asset and utilities maintenance, and gardening and landscape management as a 24/7 support service.
The seven-story Northern Beaches Hospital comprises 486 beds, a 50-space emergency department, 14 operating theatres, four procedure rooms, intensive care services, a modern inpatient mental health facility, helipad and 1,400 space car park.