610
Summary: Objectives
614
OBJECTIVES
The primary objectives of the VA systems integration program have been
cost control, improved performance, adaptability, time reduction and the
provision of a basis for long-range development of a hospital building
system. The vehicle for working toward these objectives has been the
Building System Prototype Design, referred to more briefly as the
Prototype Design.
614.1
COST CONTROL
614.1.1
First Cost
Besides the manufacturer's delivered price for a building subsystem or
component, the selection of that item has three other predictable
interacting effects on the first cost of a building: the cost of its installation,
the cost of products which must be used in conjunction with it, and its
influence on the critical path of the construction schedule. Normally, the
first of these is taken into account by conventional estimating procedures.
But the other two are frequently overlooked, the second because there is
usually not enough time allotted for design to allow effective cost-benefit
analysis of significant alternatives; the third because selection often must
be made before a construction schedule can be developed in sufficient
detail to measure sensitivity. A special case of the latter difficulty is the
cost effect of a product on change orders in which the product may
become involved.
The development of the Prototype Design has been directed at the
establishment of controlled interface conditions, permitting the widest
possible latitude in the selection of components without adverse effect on
adjacent components, and allowing postponement of certain critical
selections until their impact on scheduling can be assessed. The purpose
of this approach is not necessarily first cost reduction per se, but rather to
improve control over cost and thus allow more realistic budgeting.
614.1.2
Life Cost
The total cost of housekeeping, maintenance and alterations of a hospital
building over a forty-year period can be expected to be at least five times
the contract cost of the original construction.
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