Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton: from early cost planning to 2,500-outlet Cat6 delivery
Queen Mary’s Hospital structured cabling: ACCL worked with Bovis Lend Lease from early cost planning through design development before tendering for and delivering approximately 2,500 Cat6 outlets across four communications rooms at the new hospital in Roehampton.
ACCL worked with Bovis Lend Lease from early 2003 to help develop the IT infrastructure cost plan and structured cabling design for the new Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton, before successfully tendering for and delivering an installation of approximately 2,500 Cat6 data outlets across four communications rooms.
The result
The completed project gave Bovis Lend Lease and Queen Mary’s Hospital:
- Early involvement with the Bovis Lend Lease estimating team
- Several hundred hours invested in design development
- Cat6 infrastructure serving IT and multiple building systems
- Continuity from cost planning and design through to installation
- A major healthcare project delivered within a live construction programme
Services delivered
Overview: Queen Mary’s Hospital structured cabling programme
In early 2003, Bovis Lend Lease‘s estimating department approached ACCL to assist with the production of a cost plan for the IT infrastructure for the new Queen Mary’s Hospital at Roehampton.
The initial appointment was pre-construction rather than an installation contract: ACCL worked through the developing structured cabling requirements as the hospital design progressed from Stage 2 through to Stage 4, investing several hundred hours before Bovis Lend Lease invited the company to tender for the installation package.
ACCL’s tender was successful, taking the company from early estimating and design support into the physical delivery of the infrastructure it had helped develop. The completed scope comprised approximately 2,500 Cat6 data outlets distributed through the hospital and supported by four communications rooms, providing connectivity not just for conventional IT but for systems including BMS, CCTV, access control, Wi-Fi and nurse call. The installation was completed over an 18-month period.
The challenge
The scale of the outlet count was only one part of the challenge. A new hospital requires communications infrastructure to support a wide range of operational, building and technology systems, meaning the structured cabling design had to be coordinated with the wider construction programme and the requirements of multiple specialist packages.
For ACCL, the project therefore began long before installation. The estimating and design stages required the team to work through quantities, outlet distribution, communications-room requirements and the interfaces between the passive network and the systems that would ultimately use it – and the principal challenge was maintaining that continuity as the project moved from a developing cost plan into detailed design and then into an 18-month installation programme.
Several hundred hours before the tender
ACCL’s involvement in Queen Mary’s was unusual because the company had already committed several hundred hours to the project before being asked to tender for the installation. The work started with the Bovis Lend Lease estimating department and developed as the hospital design matured.
Rather than receiving a completed specification at tender stage, ACCL had first-hand knowledge of how the infrastructure requirements had developed and why particular design decisions had been made – giving the installation team a detailed understanding of the project before site delivery began.
From cost plan to installation
The Queen Mary’s project moved through three distinct phases of ACCL involvement. Bovis Lend Lease initially asked ACCL to help its estimating department develop the cost plan for the IT infrastructure, which required working through design information that was still developing rather than pricing a finished bill of quantities.
ACCL then remained involved as the structured cabling design progressed from Stage 2 to Stage 4, investing several hundred hours that later became directly relevant to delivery when the company was invited to tender for the installation package.
Following the tender process, ACCL moved into the delivery phase: approximately 2,500 Cat6 outlets were installed across the hospital, distributed through four communications rooms, over an approximately 18-month programme that required the structured cabling works to progress alongside the wider hospital construction.
Planning healthcare IT infrastructure?
ACCL supported Bovis Lend Lease from early cost planning through to an 18-month Cat6 installation at Queen Mary’s Hospital. Talk to us about involving a structured cabling specialist while your project’s quantities and design can still be influenced.
A common cabling platform for multiple systems
The Cat6 installation supported considerably more than desktop network connections. The structured cabling included connectivity associated with hospital IT and data services, the Building Management System (BMS), CCTV, access control, Wi-Fi, nurse call and other connected hospital and building systems included within the project design.
Even in the early 2000s, the physical network was becoming a common platform on which an increasing number of building and operational technologies depended. For a hospital, that made accurate coordination and design development particularly important.
Four communications rooms, 2,500 outlets
The hospital’s approximately 2,500 Cat6 outlets were distributed through four communications rooms, which formed the principal termination and distribution points for the structured cabling system. Their location and capacity had to be considered during design development because the communications-room strategy directly affected horizontal cable distribution throughout the building – and by working on the project before tender, ACCL already understood this network architecture when the installation phase began.
Technologies used
ACCL’s role
ACCL’s role covered the project lifecycle from early estimating support through design development and installation. Our responsibilities included:
- Supporting the Bovis Lend Lease estimating department
- Assisting with the IT infrastructure cost plan
- Working through the structured cabling design from Stage 2 to Stage 4
- Tendering for and delivering the structured cabling installation
- Delivering approximately 2,500 Cat6 outlets across four communications rooms
- Coordinating the installation through an 18-month programme
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Related guidance
Foreword by Wayne
“Queen Mary’s is a project I remember particularly well because our involvement started long before we were given an installation contract. Bovis Lend Lease’s estimating department first asked us to help develop the IT infrastructure cost plan in early 2003. From there we worked through the design from Stage 2 to Stage 4 and put several hundred hours into understanding the requirements of the hospital. When Bovis asked us to tender for the installation, we already knew the project in considerable detail, and we then had the opportunity to build the infrastructure we had spent so much time helping to develop. For me, Queen Mary’s demonstrated the value of involving specialist contractors early – good cost planning and good design are closely connected to good delivery.”Wayne Connors, Managing Director, ACCL
Frequently asked questions
What did ACCL deliver at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton?
ACCL supported the early IT infrastructure cost planning and design development before successfully tendering for the structured cabling installation. The delivered system included approximately 2,500 Cat6 data outlets across four communications rooms.
When did ACCL first become involved in the project?
ACCL became involved in early 2003, when the Bovis Lend Lease estimating department asked the company to assist with the IT infrastructure cost plan.
How early was ACCL involved in the design?
ACCL worked through the design from Stage 2 to Stage 4 before the installation tender.
How many Cat6 outlets were installed?
Approximately 2,500 Cat6 data outlets were installed across the hospital.
How many communications rooms were included?
The structured cabling system was distributed through four communications rooms.
How long did the installation take?
The structured cabling installation was completed over approximately 18 months.
Which systems used the structured cabling infrastructure?
The project included structured cabling supporting hospital IT together with systems such as BMS, CCTV, access control, Wi-Fi and nurse call.
Was ACCL involved only during the construction phase?
No. ACCL’s involvement began with cost planning and continued through design development before the company tendered for and delivered the installation.
Who was the main construction contractor?
Bovis Lend Lease was the construction partner for the new hospital.
Why is the project relevant to ACCL’s work today?
It demonstrates ACCL’s long-standing ability to support major projects before construction, combining estimating and design input with subsequent structured cabling delivery.
Planning healthcare or major-project structured cabling?
ACCL can become involved before tender to help develop quantities, infrastructure strategy and cost planning for major structured cabling projects.
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