In 2006, Norton Women’s and Kosair Children’s Hospital upgraded its turn-key central utility plant, avoiding imminent systems failure and interruptions to patient care while saving annually on energy costs.
Challenge
- Update the central utility plant to avoid systems failure for a hospital providing 24/7 care.
- Increase comfort for patients and employees.
- Inefficient systems were causing excessive energy costs.
- Limited funding was available during the downturned economy.
- Complete upgrades for the chilled water system before the summer heat set in.
- Finite space in which to build due to landlocked real estate.
“The biggest hurdle we had to overcome to complete this project was keeping chilled water service to the hospital while completely replacing all of their existing chilled water capacity with the new plant. We were able to do this through a combination of sound project management, close coordination with the hospital’s engineering staff, use of rental equipment, and aggressive construction schedules.” – Jason Dusch, Harshaw Trane Controls Account Manager
Solution
- Designed, constructed, and integrated a new turn-key central utility plant which included new chillers and boilers, gas tank farm, real-time monitoring, and a centralized building automation system.
- Seamlessly connected the new plant to the hospital without interrupting round-the-clock patient care.
- Used temporary chillers to fulfill short-term needs while long-term improvements were implemented.
- A 10-year sustainability service program enhanced the project’s focus on long-term solutions.
Results
- 18,000 accident-free construction hours logged to complete the renovation on-time and within budget, with zero disruption to patient care.
- Harshaw Trane reviewed the utility bills discovering $30,000 in overcharges, which were credited back to the facility.
- Improved occupant comfort so hospital officials may focus on what matters most – outstanding patient care.
- A six-story patient tower has since been added to the medical campus and is adequately served by the central utility plant without the need for additional chiller capacity.
- The hospital has become one of the largest and most respected healthcare facilities in the region, recently voted “One of the Best Places to Give Birth in America” by FitPregnancy.com.