LCB-HEALTHCARE Newsletter #5
Welcome to the 5th LCB newsletter. In this edition you’ll find news about the progress of some of the LCB pilot projects, some important diary dates, and a message from a Masters student who will be researching Forward Commitment Procurement at a European level.
Market meeting day at Erasmus MC, Netherlands
The Erasmus MC in the Netherlands has a strategic ambition to be a low carbon, green hospital, and as part of that objective the hospital is renewing its bed washing facility. To find a better, less energy intensive way to provide clean beds, Erasmus MC has followed a process to consult the market for new approaches and ideas.
Starting with a market survey in September 2011, Erasmus MC has established that there are suppliers willing to explore new bed washing technologies and processes, as well as other hospitals interested in sharing the same solution. 17th January 2012 was chosen as a market meeting day, bringing together the supply chain and the potential customers. The day contributed to:
- Providing parties with more insight in the challenge set by Erasmus MC
- Demonstrating the commitment of Erasmus MC to buy innovative solutions. Furthermore, the attendance of other healthcare parties showed that there is a wider future market for innovative solutions.
- Helping market parties find potential partners for developing better and more innovative solutions.
- Learning how Erasmus MC should organize the rest of the procurement process (e.g. tender procedure and awarding of contract) to enhance the chances for a successful outcome.
Exchanging ideas at the Erasmus MC Market Meeting Day
You can find more details of the market meeting day here, including information about how the day was run, the reactions of suppliers, and how Erasmus MC encouraged the supply chain to grasp the opportunity to provide an innovative solution. The market meeting day showed that individual suppliers – or perhaps a consortium of suppliers – should be able to meet the challenge, and Erasmus MC will be able to begin its procurement procedure in the near future.
Nottingham University Hospitals, UK – market engagement continues
Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUHT) held a highly successful site visit, networking and information day on 16th January as part of continuing market engagement for the Trust’s Integrated Ultra Low Carbon Energy Solution for future power, heating and cooling needs. The day was launched by Peter Homa, NUHT’s CEO, and attracted over 100 companies. Feedback indicates that chain relationships are already beginning to form as a result of this event.
The NUHT market sounding exercise attracted over 65 high quality responses. These are now being analysed to assess the appetite and capability of the supply chain to deliver an integrated, ultra low carbon energy solution and inform the development of a pro-innovation procurement strategy and specification. After a period of further consultation, the procurement is expected to go to tender in the autumn. The project is attracting considerable interest from the supply chain, as you can see from this Cleantech magazine article.
You can find all the background on the NUHT project, plus detailed information on the unmet need identified by NUHT, energy efficiency expectations, the Trust’s low carbon ambitions, and much more besides, by following this link.
Update on the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust (UK) Ultra Efficient Lighting Project
Recent weeks have seen the successful installation of the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust’s Ultra-Efficient lighting pod at the Building Research Establishment (BRE) healthcare section. Just as a reminder, the Rotherham UEL project aims to provide a step change in ward lighting, improving the patient experience and making progressive improvements in energy efficiency – via a pro-innovation procurement strategy. The BRE installation of the proposed lighting solution has attracted a large number of NHS visitors who have provided feedback and challenge that will play into the next iteration. Some of the suggested design changes include ways to reduce the possibility of HCAI and improve cleanliness, improvements in storage areas, flexible additions to the basic unit whilst at the same time improving its sustainability credentials. All of these improvements are to be considered and implemented prior to road testing the UEL solution at an operational hospital site.
The Rotherham UEL project has recently had a write up in the January/February 2012 edition of the Journal of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). You can access the article directly by following this link to the LCB website.
Ultra Efficient Lighting Design
Diary dates
The LCB-HEALTHCARE team is planning a good practice workshop in April this year, to showcase low carbon and innovation procurement case studies from across Europe. The workshop will be an important element in producing a Good Practice Guide for the healthcare sector. If you would like to contribute a case study, or if you would like to register interest in the event: info@lowcarbon-healthcare.eu
We are also running a procurement foresight workshop on low carbon / sustainable ventilation in London in the spring, and we’ll shortly be circulating further details. However, if you would like to register early interest for this event, please email: info@lowcarbon-healthcare.eu
Masters research on Forward Commitment Procurement
A message from Masters student Hendrik van Meerveld:
I will be conducting my master thesis project at TNO (Netherlands) as the closing chapter of my Masters in Civil Engineering & Management at the University of Twente. Construction management has been my particular field of interest; this covers a range of topics such as project & process management, legal & governance aspects, innovation (management), market conditions, procurement strategies, etc. Many of these aspects are related to the topic of my masters thesis on ‘Forward Commitment Procurement’ (FCP).
The goal of FCP is to trigger and aid market parties so that they will deliver innovative solutions in the procurement process. The FCP process does require careful deliberation and decision making as many aspects may influence the outcome of the FCP process. My research goal is to contribute to the decision making process, providing insight in the different tradeoffs and requirements of FCP. Vital for achieving this goal is the evaluation of the different projects within the LCB-Healthcare Network and any support provided is therefore much appreciated.
Met vriendelijke groet,
H. (Hendrik) van Meerveld
Student Civil Engineering & Management
Universiteit Twente
T : 06-10916964
@: h.vanmeerveld@student.utwente.nl
