Project
Mortenson Construction was selected by Sanford Health to design and build its medical center—the seventh largest healthcare construction project in the United States and the largest commercial construction project in North Dakota. Consisting of a 1-million-square-foot building complex set on a 109-acre site in Fargo, North Dakota, the USD 500 million project presented the challenge of building on soil not conducive to heavy loads because of its location in the ancient Agassiz lakebed.
Solution
Mortenson met the 30-month project schedule by using an integrated delivery model that calls for innovative logistics planning and attention to the finest details in cross-discipline, vertical-to-horizontal collaboration. The Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) approach using MicroStation, Bentley Map, InRoads, and OpenRoads enhanced communication and decision-making, enabling civil work and building construction teams to find time-saving solutions to the site challenges.
Outcome
After completing an in-depth study and pricing exercise, the project team learned that maximum efficiency for the project would be in reducing the footprint drastically and going vertical, a rare scenario for a site where plenty of land is available. The exercise shaved tens of millions of dollars from the final project cost and helped to better inform the geotechnical exploration on the project. Upon completion in 2016, the trauma 1 medical center will serve a three-state region with 384 beds and 32 operating rooms.
Software
Bentley software's interoperability played a critical role in enabling the cross-platform collaboration at the core of the VDC approach. MicroStation and InRoads helped the team create the innovative design for a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall around the perimeter of the building, which proved to be a huge time-saving decision. The capability to integrate the MSE design with dozens of trades and achieve buy-in from the entire project team produced significant cost savings.