Best Practices for Project Management, Design, and Construction of ...

The construction of hospitals in California is a complex and demanding process that requires
effective management and cooperation of the various stakeholders involved. The needs and
requirements of each stakeholder must be taken into consideration:
• Contractors may want to make changes to material specifications or change the design to
improve construction efficiencies, or they may find details that cannot be constructed.
• The design team wants the project constructed in compliance with the approved
documents. However, designers may tend to consider any deviations to be “means and
methods,” but any such deviations may be considered to be changes and require OSHPD
FDD approval (see OSHPD Website for Code Application Notice (CAN) 1-7-153(a),
Materially Alter definition).
• The owner would like a quality building constructed on time and within budget.
• California law requires that OSHPD approval be obtained before any construction is
performed.
Overview of the Process
The contractor begins construction per the approved plans and specifications. The Inspector of
Record (IOR), who is the primary liaison with OSHPD FDD, continuously inspects the
construction as long as segments of work are proceeding and maintains records of the activities,
as described in Section 4 of this volume. The OSHPD FDD field staff makes scheduled and
unscheduled visits to the project to observe the execution of the construction by conducting a
construction site review and audit of the Testing Inspection and Observation (TIO) Program (see
Section 5 of this volume) and project construction documentation with the IOR. The Compliance
Officer triages requested changes and either approves the changes in the approved construction
documents or directs that the design professional forward the documents to the OSHPD FDD
Plan Review group for review and approval. (See Section 3 of this volume for detailed best
practices for plan review.) The architects and engineers make periodic visits to observe the
construction to ensure work is compliant with the design.
In an ideal project, the plans and specifications would be followed exactly, the contractor would
build the structure in strict compliance with the plans, the IOR would perform continuous
inspection, and the OSHPD FDD field staff would visit the project as frequently as needed.
Unfortunately, there are no perfect projects. Critical elements must be managed carefully to
ensure that:
• Changes are only made when they are absolutely required, and
• All construction is approved by OSHPD FDD.
Comprehensive control of all documents, including amended construction documents, inspection
records, and reports is key to the success of a project.
(OSHPD Best Practices) Page 81 DRAFT FINAL, Sept. 2011