Pre-Construction Services
Our Process
Drawing reviews are completed by RPA to protect our clients directly (RPA operates as the representative with and/or for the hospital, ASC and Long-term Care Facility). This is to identify in advance potential issues with code compliance (NFPA 101, The Life Safety Code), fire attack (how the fire department would enter an area to fight a fire) and ensure the unique patient acuity in that area has been properly addressed in the protections required that would be considered “best practices” and potentially not code compliant (bariatric unit, NICU, behavioral health, etc.).
RPA has saved clients hundreds of thousands of dollars by handling problems before they surface. We believe it is far better to fix an issue before you open than after the patients are already in your facility.
Compliance Review
RPA can provide your organization with a compliance review of life safety design drawings for the applicable edition(s) of the Life Safety Code®. This service may reveal design oversights and improper application or inaccurate interpretations of Code provisions. Common design issues are extremely difficult and costly to remediate once construction has commenced:
- Occupancy classification
- Building construction classification(s)
- Means of egress components
- Travel distance and remoteness
- Suite size and existing arrangements
- Protection of vertical openings
- Hazardous area classification and separation
- Compartmentalization
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Design Factors (fire procedural)
One of the most critical components in a review of the life safety design drawings is the part that is not in the Codes, but protects patients based on high acuity areas. RPA assesses how the life safety drawings complement best practice fire safety and evacuation planning/procedures. This may result in guidance addressing how the addition, placement or omission of fire protection features has a direct impact on evacuation planning and fire department access. Although not directly tied to code compliance, these recommendations can often directly affect the ability of staff to protect patients in place or effectively evacuate them horizontally.
Field Inspections
RPA can conduct site visits, as applicable, providing spot-checks to field verify as-built compliance with the applicable edition(s) of the Life Safety Code®. This review often identifies common construction oversights and serves as a third party field verification process. This may take place at 50%, 75% and/or 90% completion.
Post Construction Services
Once the project is moving from “construction phase” to owner-operated as a patient care location, RPA commences the next phase of the project.
This is a process to complete a full wall-to-wall assessment (if Joint Commission, formerly The Statement of Conditions), and have web-based management tools to support continuous readiness from the day the building opens. We commonly find ourselves serving as an advocate for our clients for misinterpretations issues in the Code.
In some situations, a fire evacuation plan must be submitted to the Authority Having Jurisdiction and Health Department prior to opening a new building. RPA offers fire protection surveys, completion of facility-specific fire procedures, staff training, fire drills, leadership training, and recommendations for improvement.
RPA provides services to design the plan for a new building and integrate it with your existing facility-wide and unit-specific procedures for partial or full evacuation. Training is provided to key leadership and department heads on the activation of the plan and horizontal or vertical patient evacuation. An exercise is then run to test plan effectiveness.
Surge Capacity Assessment and Operational Tools
RPA will identify areas in your new building, including specific rooms or areas within departments that may provide surge capacity capabilities, along with some of the specific steps necessary to accommodate a surge (mass influx of patients, evacuation of another hospital, or internal relocation due to a fire or other emergency). Using our RPA Navigator web-based tool, Command Center tools will be provided for planning and Just-in-Time decision-making.