The Largest Single Construction Project in Maine is Complete

MaineGeneral Medical Center, also called the Alfond Center for Health is the largest single construction project completed in Maine’s History. The $224 million, 640,000 square foot state of the art hospital located in Augusta, Maine was a merger of two hospital campuses that were 20 miles apart into one single location.  This project also utilized a true Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) contract approach, the first of its kind in Maine.  It also used lean construction tools and methods.

Windham Millwork, once awarded the contract, was hired in a “design-assist” capacity and worked very closely with the architects and engineers making sure to use the most efficient materials and fabrication techniques.  These early design meetings helped pave the way for a highly collaborative approach which resulted in a very successful project.

The IPD method is a collaborative alliance of people, systems, business structures and practices that optimize project results, increased value to the owner, reduced waste and maximized efficiency through all phases of design and construction.  Communication and transparency were at the heart of the collaborative effort, with IPD partners physically based at a central “co-location” site to work as a collaborative team, instead of in silos.  The culture that is created by each party having a seat at the table is key to the success of the project.  This IPD approach allowed the entire team to complete the project 36 months from the start of the design, finishing design and construction a full ten months ahead of the original schedule.  The upfront collaboration with all members of each team brought $20 million in value – added savings to the hospital.

WMI started manufacturing 2 years before this project was complete.  Everything manufactured in house was built in phases and stored in Windham’s weather-proof storage buildings.  Every piece was carefully labeled and ready to deliver when the time was right, allowing for WMI to be ahead of the curve and able to help meet the deadlines set within the construction team for installation.  Prior to fabrication, our design team spent many months collaborating on site with architects and engineers influencing design and best methods of construction within the millwork portion of the project.  From signing the contract to leaving the job site once completed, WMI was fully engaged and dedicated to this historical hospital.  WMI’s efforts were recognized with praise from John Scott and Steve Wiley of H.P. Cummings and Robins and Morton who represented the two general contractors on the job.  “The Project team would like to recognize the hard work and collaboration of your entire project team.  The effort and commitment of the pre-construction team has brought significant value to the process.  Windham’s willingness to be an integral component of the design process has allowed the project team to make informed decisions early in the process.  This success has extended to the installation.  The quality and teamwork shown by your installers are a credit to all of Windham Millwork.  Keep up the good work.”

Windham Millwork manufactured and installed over 8,000 cabinets and 6 miles of solid surface countertops within this massive project.   Over 85 clinical and reception stations were also made and installed by WMI.  The spiritual space, gift shop, boutique and VIP quiet area were all furnished and installed by Windham.  Not only were cabinets, countertops and clinical stations apart of the contract but WMI also were in charge of over 6,500 lineal feet of solid surface window sills, 85,000 square feet of vinyl wall protection, 4,000 linear feet of handrail and 700 metal lockers with benches.  Windham Millwork had a crew of around 21 installers on site throughout the construction process, which helped allow the completion to be ahead a full 6 months ahead of schedule.   All throughout the hospital you can witness the high quality that is produced and set in place by WMI.

Windham Millwork is very proud to have the opportunity to not only be the only New England Company allowed to participate in the interview process on this project but also to be awarded as the sole millwork company on such a large and monumental project.  Our reputation and ability allowed us this opportunity and we are grateful to be a part of such a successful project with great contractors and sub contractors involved.  It was a team effort and a project that will be talked about for a long time.