Bridging the PDC process and facilities management

Our profession has historically bifurcated maintenance and operations from the planning, design and construction (PDC) process. This disconnect has magnified the backlog of deferred infrastructure upgrades, energy inefficiency, ineffective integration of technologies and deficiencies with training. As a facilities leader, my focus is to share best practices that improve the physical environment while reducing deferred maintenance.

Many concerns regarding project scope, budget and schedule are self-inflicted and often discovered at go-live. A facilities manager might identify infrastructure deficiencies too late to be accommodated within the project budget and schedule, with such disastrous results as building new patient care spaces beneath a failing roof.

I haven’t been immune to this. I’ve also suffered the proverbial injuries of hidden condition change orders, the results of which became our “best practices guidelines” and campus-specific infrastructure “needs” list. This effort has dramatically improved outcomes, as evidenced by a diminished backlog of infrastructure tasks and improved energy-efficiency ratings across our facilities.

Our infrastructure projects deserve a fearless advocate at the table to ensure building needs are accounted for, either as line items within the owner’s project requirements or as an end-to-end parallel task finishing at the first patient day. Successful projects require a facilities champion from concept to go-live.

While some facilities leaders may not be confident when it comes to PDC, their voices belong in the conversation. We must listen to and mentor them to ensure that projects incorporate the technology, patient experience considerations and required building updates needed to support the investment.

All projects have firm budgets, schedules and untimely changes. Our job is to address associated infrastructure elements — even those outside our defined scope — to ensure a safe and energy-efficient project. An effective PDC process cannot stand alone!

Reach out and share your efforts integrating PDC and facilities operations. I am eager to hear about your challenges and successes!