Broaddus & Associates provided program management on the construction of a new freestanding 25,000-SF data center to serve Houston Methodist. In addition, Broaddus & Associates coordinated all aspects of consultant selection, approval, construction, and operational startup of the project. The team faced some specific challenges in managing project scope, with IT technology continuing to evolve during the project design and construction. Although IT staff understood that the project has a fixed budget that must be met, they were pressured to stay updated with IT technology.

Weekly meetings were held with IT staff to communicate project progress and discuss IT specific planning, procurement, and installation activities. Reaching consensus on the final IT rack design in the data center was difficult and was not finalized until immediately before racks were installed at construction’s end and IT equipment began installation. However, as the layout affects cooling, the electrical loads were finalized during design. Contingencies and experience were used allowing flexibility, to not incur unnecessary costs or project delays.  

Broaddus & Associates successfully provided savings to Houston Methodist by:  

• Cost reduction through evaluation of immediate scope and future expansion scope. End users wanted design for major expansion for a 10-year period. In this case, to meet current budget parameters, evaluation of redundancy was critical to the process. The defined redundancy level determined an acceptable budget amount and a phase plan that allows growth.
  
  
• Schedule mitigation through selective pre-requisitioning of long-lead equipment and understanding the timeframe necessary for installation of five miles of under-slab conduit.