Challenge

Mercy Rogers established a goal to become the leading regional healthcare provider in Northwest Arkansas, which required development of a replacement medical campus that included a full service hospital and medical office building. Northstar's analysis of the scope and budget initially approved for the project resulted in a potential cost overrun in excess of $17 million (14%). Our challenge was to engage the Owner and project team in a scope/cost development and management process that would align costs with the budget while meeting all defined project goals and guiding principles.

Success

Northstar established a team and project management process that included an organization chart to clearly define roles, responsibilities and working relationships. Consistent process checks started during programming and continued through schematic design and design development, using Materials & Systems Workshops and Cost Opinion/Value Analysis (COVA) as primary tools. The team collaborated on scope options, cost estimates and value assessments, resulting in prioritized recommendations for the Owner's review and approval. This allowed the Owner to obtain the best possible value for budgeted dollars while meeting all defined goals for the project.