Urðahvarf 16

After working on specifications for systematic completion in primary healthcare facilities for FSRE, NORCOM was invited to take part in a project with GG Verk, where the real estate company Súlur converted Urðahvarf 16 into a 24-hour nursing care facility. Heilsuvernd has now been selected as the operator.

Gunnlaugur Trausti Vignisson at NORCOM ehf was hired as the contractor’s commissioning manager. The contractor was GG Verk, with Hreinn Sigurðsson as project manager and construction manager.

Gunnlaugur’s 15 years of experience with takt planning (lean scheduling) and design management in design-build contracts proved highly valuable to GG Verk.

Fourteen months later—after more than 40 design meetings, countless construction meetings, and structured production—the building is ready for use, delivered to the client, and approved by FSRE.

System testing, functional testing, and system balancing have been carried out.

NORCOM ehf brought in Steinar from Norsk VVS Merking to assist with balancing the heating and cooling systems. NORCOM staff have also balanced the ventilation systems in collaboration with Kristján from Iðnaðartækni, and full-scale testing will be carried out in the coming weeks.

The project has demonstrated several important points:

• When there is a clear understanding of how a building should function—for both users and the client—design under a design-build contractor progresses more quickly, and design documents are delivered to the construction site with higher quality.

• Strong coordination and good takt planning not only shorten construction time; the methodology also improves quality management and allows adjustments to the design during construction without losing control of progress.

• It is possible to test system functionality, perform balancing, and ensure the quality of technical systems before handover—even with a very fast construction process.

  
  

To achieve such results, the project must be staffed by people committed to delivering quality in every role—from the client and end users to contractors, architects, designers, consultants, and subcontractors. In this project, everyone shared a common understanding of the goals and processes. Without such a team, this would not have been possible.