The Accelerated built project provides people within the local communities with faster access to modern, long-term healthcare services using rapid procurement and modular construction. Ellisdon developed the Modular construction to accelerate the build of this project and applied all BIM capabilities in coordinating and prefabricating the modular rooms off-site. This type of Modular prefabrication and detailed coordination with conventional built scope enabled an efficient installation of all MEP services in the Trillium Health Partners Long Term Care Facility.
This is one of the first modular Long Term Care Centre ( LTC) projects in Canada and is one of the first projects where EllisDon has deployed volumetric steel modular construction as a delivery method. This has been a particularly challenging endeavor where the site team together with Modular team aimed to overcome challenges and improve production processes to produce accurate components, deliver on time and install in correct positions and finalize connections as coordinated with site scope layout. Different modular units are prefabricated in the plant and delivered to site to complete such rapid project in less time following client’s requirements for an earlier delivery.
To overcome the challenge, Building Information Modelling (BIM) was applied to completely coordinated prefabricated units and to reduce site installation interferences and clashes. The project’s ambition for efficiency through digital-based communication led to a high-level BIM strategy from the early phases.
The project comprises 2 x 320 bed facilities that are connected at ground floor and up to roof top units. The ventilation and exhaust air requirements for resident bedrooms and washrooms are provided by supplying tempered air directly to each bedroom and exhausting each bedroom and washroom through central Heat Recovery Units located on the roof.
The BIM process assisted in overcoming the challenge of MEP connections and particularly for MEP services connections and shafts services layouts. This is one of the main challenges the project faced and was solved by applying 2D, 3D and 4D BIM capabilities to deliver fully coordinated layouts between the prefabricated modular units and its locations with respect to site conventional scope. This significantly minimized the impact on time and cost from the early design stage until site delivery and installation in connection to adjacent services. This was evident in the corridors and core area of the towers’ typical floors, as well as in vertical connections to the ground floor massive services and risers connected to the roof AHU units and their piping and sheet metal services.
Modular construction allows for a simultaneous design and construction. This project’s units were prefabricated offsite and delivered with complete finishes from inside the room including all its MEP services and furniture, as well as its envelope with various sizes and designs. This process reduced the overall completion schedule by as much as 50%. Cost savings includes reduced labor, financing, and supervision costs. Such prefabricated standardized resolution is a substantial solution for challenges surrounding such rapid projects.
On the other hand, Ellisdon-Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) team applied the 3D technology tools and workflows to support the design development and construction for THP project.
The VDC team coordination efforts minimized interface risk and streamlined production of prefabricated modular in creative problem-solving approaches that greatly aligned with matching construction schedules.
BIM workflows are applied on the Long Term Care ( LTC ) project , using tools to detect and track all clashes by confirming MEP services elevations to ensure accuracy in construction between the modular units shipped from the plant to the site and the conventional build core.
The BIM process facilitates a collaborative workflow of information between a range of specialized platforms for design studies, clash detections, 3D coordination, markups, document tracking and fabrication as well as between Modular platforms and the Conventional construction platforms managed by ED BIM Lead. This developed process resolves the challenges faced in such rapid projects and its pre-fabricated products . Refer to 2-THP BIM Advantages Chart photo in the Supporting materials section to see the reduced document errors once applying Modular and BIM.
