Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre Central Energy Plant

Disciplines
Electrical, Fire Engineering, Fire Protection, Hydraulics, Mechanical, Sustainability, Vertical Transportation

Markets
Health & Aged Care

Offices
Perth

Key People

Ben Hyde

Hydraulic Project Engineer, Principal

Bruce van Rooyen

Mechanical Project Engineer, Principal

José Granado

Managing Director

Stephen King

Fire Section Manager, Principal

Prasanna Suraweera

Sustainability Section Manager, Principal

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This project was the major enabling project for the redevelopment of the QEII Medical Centre (QEIIMC) site in Nedlands and was delivered as a two-stage managed contract by Brookfield Multiplex during 2011 and 2012.

WGE was responsible for the design and construction phase services for all the building services disciplines on this challenging project.

This $226m project is the largest of its kind in Australia and was completed within an inflexible project programme and within the confines of a fully functional hospital site - a definite challenge for all involved.

The team’s use of 3D Revit provided a significant tool for the visualization of the installation, co-ordination of the services and the ongoing operation and maintenance of the building through interfacing to the site’s facility management system.

The QEIIMC precinct accommodates a number of current buildings, including the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and has future healthcare facilities planned for the site. These future plans include the relocation of a $1bn New Children’s Hospital (NCH) as well as the future relocation of the city’s Women’s Hospital. This meant that the CEP had to significantly expand to service these new facilities in addition to the existing site. The decision was made by the client that this provided the opportune time to relocate the current CEP to the rear of the site, forcing the incorporation of an extended service tunnel to connect existing infrastructure.

This intricate project was completed on time under a tight programme of work, staged to coordinate with the construction of the NCH. The existing services and CEP were operational during the construction of the new facilities necessitating meticulously planned construction, commissioning, integration and change-over phases.

Some of the particular aspects of the projects that provided the project team with significant challenges and necessitated a collaborative approach to the design and construction of the project included:

• The speed required for both the design & construction phases (a minimum of 80% of the project value to be designed, tendered and adjudicated within 4 months of project award; and completion of the CEP to provide beneficial use of the plant within 20 months from the commencement of the design process)
• The complexity of the services and the interface to the existing hospital
• The large number of stake-holders and design professionals involved
• The critical nature of the project and the need to deliver on time to prevent delay to the subsequent $1bn NCH

The CEP project included the following construction elements:

• A new CEP building
• 506 metres of main services tunnel, nominal size 6m wide x 3.5m deep
• Waste management, workshop and dangerous goods buildings
• 4 x 6.6kV – 11kV and 8 x 11kV – 440V transformers
• 160 items of HV switchgear
• 4 x 9.7 MW chillers and associated cooling towers, pumps and pipe work
• 5 x 2.5MW diesel generators providing site emergency power
• 1 x 2.5MW tri-generation system including gas generator and absorption chiller
• 3 x 6.5MW high temperature hot water boilers
• 2 x 2 400 kg/hr steam boilers
• Reverse osmosis plant and pumping equipment
• Demolition of the old CEP building and 59m high stack

To an outsider viewing the high quality of the finished product with exceptional attention to detail, it would be hard to believe the rapid speed of the design and construction of this project.

More on QEII CEP:

WGE have been heavily involved in the technology side of the project. Click here to read more about our innovative technology engineering.