Construction processes in hospitals - A comparative study of construction processes in hospitals in Norway and the USA

Abstract

This thesis assesses the differences in the construction process at two hospitals, one in Norway and the other in the USA. The Norwegian health sector has received a lot of bad press regarding their internal processes and financial status in the later years, and the authors found it interesting to do a comparative study to take a closer look at the facility departments. Construction projects are challenging to conduct, as it requires good internal processes while the project must adhere to internal and external factors. Therefore the authors chose to assess the construction projects step-by-step in the light of four factors; macro-, organizational-, financial-, and process related factors The problem definition of this thesis is how the differences at Akershus Universitetsykehus and New York Presbyterian Hospital affect the construction project from idea to daily operation. The thesis will give a basic presentation of facility management and project management, and a thorough presentation of the two hospitals and their construction process. The factors surrounding the process are assessed in detail for each of the cases. The thesis is based on a case study, which has resulted in a large amount of data. To obtain good information about the construction process this study is based on interviews with key people in the construction process of the two hospitals. The results of this study is that construction projects at Akershus Universitetsykehus and New York Presbyterian Hospital is conducted in almost the same way, but the external factors have a major influence on how the construction process are organized and conducted.