Thinking outside the cell for rapid turnaround

Over 540 custodial corrections staff in Wellington NSW, will be the first officers in the country to work in a uniquely designed and constructed “Rapid Build” prison, awarded in late July 2016 and due to open late 2017.

Another first for Australia, the maximum security prison has been developed to be built “as quickly as possible” to meet the short term demand for beds.

Hansen Yuncken has operated in the Central West region of NSW for over 7 years delivering Orange Base Hospital, Warrendine St Specialist Centre, Orange, MARS Petcare in Bathurst, Purina Nestle Blayney Care West Lodge, Clinical Simulation MDLM Building, Charles Sturt University, and recently, the Wellington Short Term Correctional Facility.

The 400-bed rapid-build prison concept features a total of 14 individual buildings, four accommodation buildings, each with four dormitory pods housing 25 inmates. The facility also includes approximately 5.4 kilometers of security fencing which includes approximately 970lm of chain link fencing to external secure walkways spanning a total of 13.5 hectares (or 33 acres)

Designed to improve inmate productivity and increase their out of cells hours, the new prison floorplan offers greater access to employment, education and programs whilst offering the highest level of security and safety in NSW for officers and inmates.

Of course, “rapid build” means that program is of the highest priority. The project team has already met all major project milestones including a rapid five week period within which the documentation was taken from 30% to 80% through iterations of design resolution and value management to meet the Clients needs. The Hansen Yuncken team and our subcontractors have also arranged during this timeframe to provide a Guaranteed Construction Sum (GCS). Under the terms of the Contract, as soon as the tender was awarded, the Hansen Yuncken team were able to complete all necessary site investigations, site orientation and commence site set up and bulk earth works within 2 weeks of Contract award.

To address the locality, labour and industry capacity, Hansen Yuncken has incorporated multiple forms of build methodologies including offsite prefabricated steel structures, precast concrete structures, cladding, modular buildings (some over 1,000m2) and some buildings will be utilising Dincel to enable fast production on site. All designed to offer efficiency in safety, quality and delivery.

Six teams will work concurrently on each of the 14 buildings, services, external works and security fencing. Technologies such as BIM360 and QR bar-coding will be integral to the process offering real time data to track the status of construction, manufacture (which will be initiated in a number of locations), delivery, install and commissioning. Quality control will be managed off site as part of the prefabricated process with engineers and consultants working directly with sub-contractors offering complete certainty throughout the project lifecycle.

With a focus on supporting the local economy, Hansen Yuncken has engaged a mix of local and other state-based contractors to assist in the delivery of the rapid-build prison project including in the early days of the project, surveyors, concrete suppliers, light weight steel structures and hardware and office supplies. All up Hansen Yuncken is targeting 32 subcontract packages.

Presenting a unique and challenging opportunity for Hansen Yuncken, the new rapid-build prisons are part of the government’s prison bed expansion program, which will create more than 2000 jobs in correctional centres across the state.