P1 Project Profile: The University of Kansas Health System Cambridge Cancer Treatment Center

Working on new construction around an active hospital is challenging enough, but the University of Kansas Health System (TUKHS) Cambridge Cancer Treatment Center project adds multiple floors to the mix – levels 8, 9, 10, and 12.

This means P1 Group had to create a high level of efficiency across capabilities. As usual, the team was ready for the challenge with innovations in fabrication, virtual design, and inventory management that have helped this impressive electrical project run smoothly.

In fact, it was P1 Group’s quick rescue of another TUKHS project that helped land this contract.

In 2019, P1 stepped in to supplement an electrical contractor at TUKHS who had fallen behind on a fire alarm project. General Foreman Harold Green and Project Manager Alex Van Leeuwen got the project back on track and completed in the timeline required.

“Our team performed great under pressure,” Operations Manager Rick Drake said. “Everyone was very happy with the work P1 Group completed in a short period of time.”

That performance was not lost on TUKHS leadership, and shortly after, P1 Group earned the Cambridge project, located on the KU Med campus in Kansas City, KS.

Project Engineer Nathan Pendergraft projects approximately 42,000 field hours, 22 miles of branch conduit, 74 miles of wiring, 2,000+ fixtures, and 20+ additional panels /transformers in the electrical rooms.

Since navigating a working hospital on multiple floors is hard enough, P1 Group is using VMI (Vendor Management Inventory) to save the Foreman the time of having to manage material orders.

“Our vendor, Rensenhouse, has a representative come to the job site 2-3 times a week and stock our shelves with the materials needed on a daily basis,” Nathan explained. “This lightens the foreman’s load of ordering day-to-day material.”

“We are also using barrel wire to help with our wire pulls for branch power,” Nathan said.

Just like it sounds, this is a barrel of wire that can be moved around the job site easily on dolly wheels. The barrel supplies easy-to-pull wire that makes wire pulls smoother and more organized.

As with many large projects, P1 Group’s Virtual Design & Construction department plays a major role in increasing efficiency.

“P1 is using our in-house BIM coordination to create electrical shop drawings for smoother install in the field,” Nathan noted.

Careful coordination with US Engineering, who is working on the mechanical scope for the project, is also required.

“Due to the sheer size of electrical scope, we have a dedicated foreman and crew just for the 12th floor,” Nathan said. “They coordinate and develop phasing plans with US Engineering. We then have weekly progress meetings and BIM coordination to help with the field install.”

The electrical scope of the project also includes Low Voltage under the leadership of Building Technologies Project Manager Jeff Dallas, and Temperature Controls, in partnership with Control Service Company.

Nathan notes that even at this early stage in the game, the P1 field and fabrication teams have received high praise from JE Dunn and TUKHS leadership on how well the install of the conduit racks look.

“Since this project is still in the early stage, we seem to be off to great start,” Nathan said. “Our team has done a great job communicating and hashing out different challenges as they have come up.”

Innovation in Fabrication

“Due to the limited floor space for material storage, P1 Group’s electrical prefabrication capabilities have been critical,” Nathan said.

There is almost nothing the P1 Group fabrication shops can’t make, and conduit transfer solutions were no exception on the Cambridge Cancer Treatment Center job.

Electrical Fabrication Shop manager Mike Wessel and General Foreman Harold Green worked together to develop a custom conduit rack rolling cart to fit in the elevators, which allowed for a smoother conduit rack install on the multiple floors.

P1 Group’s electrical fabrication shop not only fabricated the rolling carts, the shop is prefabbing all of the branch conduit racks for the 10th, 9th, and 8th floors of the building. The conduit itself is also fabricated in the shop, then placed on the fabricated racks for shipping.

Project Team

• Nathan Pendergraft, Project Engineer
• Mike Hutchison, Project Manager
• Harold Green, General Foreman
• Mike Wessel, Electrical Fabrication Shop Mgr.
• Jeff Dallas, Building Technologies Project Mgr.
• VDC Team: Bret Faris, Steve Gray, Justin Underwood

Project Quick Facts

General Contractor: JE Dunn
Architect: Cannon Design
Engineer: BR+A
Contract Amount: $6,913,982
Square Feet: 109,420
Completion Scheduled for: December, 2021