Jersey Shore’s $300 million dollar expansion plan is designed to meet the demands of a growing community of the region. 4D Steel Detailing was chosen to detail the structure which includes: The Emergency Department (The North West Pavilion) 213,000 square feet; Diagnostics and Treatment Building (D&T Building) of 109,000 square feet and Central Utility plant (CUP Building) 27,000 square feet. Total weight approx 4430 tons of structural steel.

Architectural Rendering of the North West Pavilion

The new Emergency Department and Trauma Center is said to be large enough to accommodate 100,000 annual visits, with separate dedicated space for paediatrics and imaging and 3 nursing units containing 36 x 12 bed neighbourhoods each.

As is the case with many projects, a key factor for fabricators is how soon afterwards can they secure a mill rolling order. The Advanced Bill of Material (ABM) can usually be issued within a week or two to allow our clients to order steel directly from the mill.

Often this results in stick modelling being done from drawings which are likely to be heavily modified before the detailing of the building is complete. This is sometimes a risk that the General Contractor or client is prepared to take.

The Jersey Shore Project was no exception, with 14 major Structural Drawing Addendums being issued after the first construction set of drawings were released for detailing. 4D’s fastidious document control - within model and project management tracking of mill marks, change orders and records of communication – ensures that every piece of steel, nut, bolt, and washer is accounted for at all times. “The accuracy that is required to keep this sort of control over projects is something that 4D Steel Detailing prides itself on,” says Mike Phillips, 4D’s Project Manager for JSU. “We believe that this, along with the dedication of all staff, is the leading factor why we, as a company always deliver to the highest standard, on time, in full, every time.”

Diganostic & Treatment Building at early stages of erection in June 2007.

The location of the Jersey Shore Medical Hospital project is in a high seismic region. Due to this seismic zoning and other design factors there are extremely high bracing element requirements. The initial cross brace frame design was unworkable as the extreme loads required the gusset plates to overlap. With a lot of collaboration between 4D Steel Detailing and the connection design engineers this problem was soon overcome by modelling and testing different configurations and connection types.

This image represents some of the different brace configurations and connection types involved in the JSU project.

By working together on the bracing configuration, savings were achieved such as $100,000 in bolts alone. Through the use of 4D’s in-house documentation systems, material savings and changes to the steel were reported back to the client as changes occurred.

In many cases Tekla Structures software provides our clients reports and data that is project specific. Our modelling and reporting templates have been designed by our own in-house Tekla Structures Technicians to suit client job/situation specific requirements as required.

Jersey Shore University Hospital – Tekla Structures Isometric view

As a company 4D Steel Detailing has a traditional kiwi “Can Do Attitude” and the detailing, construction, and technical experience to back everything we say and commit to.