Health and Medical Research Building for Flinders University

The South Australian RISSafety team recently helped to deliver the innovative Health and Medical Research Building for Flinders University, which is due to open mid-2024.

The Health and Medical Research Building (HMRB) will enable researchers, practitioners and industry partners to collaborate more closely in a hub within southern Adelaide’s biomedical research precinct.

Todd Uppington, from RISSafety’s South Australian office, said the entire team worked hard to deliver their component of the $280million project. Todd was Project Manager when the HMRB job started but has since changed roles to Sales Manager – South Australia.

“This was one of the largest jobs we’ve worked on lately,” he says.

Bespoke solutions for an innovative project

RISSafety were tasked with creating solutions befitting the high-tech, landmark HMRB project. The 22,000sqm building spans 10 storeys and was designed to promote natural light throughout indoor spaces. This meant a surfeit of glass, which required systems in place to allow for maintenance.

As part of project delivery RISSafety provided:

• Abseil systems to give access internally and externally for cleaning
• Internal gantry system totalling 360m of suspended gantry
• Level 10 abseil rail roof jockey system to allow perimeter access to the entire building
• Abseil rails lower down the building
• Rail systems inside the building to allow access to glass for cleaning.

RISSafety successfully implemented these comprehensive access solutions for the project under strict deadlines.

Overcoming difficulties to deliver for the client

Todd said the suspended gantry in particular required a thorough process to ensure it could be delivered.

“A lot of organisation and planning went into that – there was lots of detail and planning to make this work.”

With so many teams delivering aspects of the project on the new build it was determined that clash detection modelling would need to be undertaken.

“This is not something we deal with regularly,” he says.

“There were so many components with different trades in a space that it needed to be ran through 3D model. We had to ensure everyone had enough space to do their work.”

Ensuring adequate space for everyone’s requirement was another aspect of the job that had to be taken into consideration – as did maintaining a 2m head clearance for workers on the gantry.

“We had all of our stuff hanging from the ceiling and everyone else’s stuff there as well,” says Todd.

“Plumbing, cable trays, electrical wires, fire pipes, copper pipes for medical-grade gases… that’s all overhead in the same area.”

 The importance of collaboration

 One of the biggest hurdles of project delivery was working on a new build with a hard headline and multiple other trades trying to meet their deadlines, says Todd.

“Electricians, plumbers, fire sprinkler guys, people putting ceilings in, people doing other work – they were just some of the people who were there.”

A significant takeaway was the necessity to be flexible and adaptive in the dynamic environment of a bustling project site, especially when situations arose that necessitated a change in approach.

“We all worked together to get it done and try to keep everyone as happy as you possibly can.”

The project is one that has provided a real sense of pride to Todd and the South Australian team.

“It is always good to have something like this under your belt. A lot of planning and hard work goes in by the team and when you can stand back and look at it and know that the team has worked hard – albeit with some headaches along the way – it gives you a sense of satisfaction.”

If you need an innovative height safety solution contact us today for a quote.