Building a hospital abroad with systems made in Italy means sending components thousands of kilometres that must arrive undamaged, install without surprises and meet another country's rules. It takes method: every error discovered on site costs more time and money than it would at home.
Who is involved in an international hospital project?
A hospital project abroad generally involves five parties.
- The client: a ministry of health, a public body, a private healthcare group or a foundation.
- The design team: architects and engineers who define the project and the technical requirements.
- The general contractor: the company that builds the hospital and coordinates the site.
- Specialist suppliers: companies providing systems such as walls, doors, ceilings, building services and equipment.
- Local authorities: the bodies that approve the design and authorise the facility to open.
A manufacturer of modular systems for healthcare works as a specialist supplier: it designs, manufactures and installs the envelope of the critical areas — operating theatres, intensive care units, corridors, wards — in coordination with the general contractor and the services contractors.
What stages does a hospital supply abroad go through?
- Project analysis. Local regulations, climate, site logistics, delivery times and client requirements.
- Design and documentation. Shop drawings, technical specifications and the documentation needed for export.
- Manufacturing and testing at the plant. Modules are produced, assembled and checked before they leave.
- Packing and shipping. By road within Europe, by sea or air for intercontinental destinations.
- Installation and testing on site. Specialised teams install the systems and check that they meet the project specifications.
- Support. Assistance after handover, spare parts and maintenance.
How are the destination country's regulations handled?
Every country has its own rules for healthcare buildings: hygiene, fire safety, ventilation and radiation protection requirements can vary significantly from one state to another. This is why the supply starts with an analysis of the applicable regulations and of the documents the local authorities will ask for.
The modular system is adapted to the destination country's regulations at the detailed design stage, not on site. It is one of the reasons the supplier should join the project as early as possible: a regulatory requirement discovered once production has started can mean components have to be remade.
Why does prefabrication reduce the risks of a site abroad?
| Typical risk abroad | How a prefabricated system responds |
|---|---|
| Scarce or expensive skilled labour | Pre-finished modules and dry assembly need fewer specialist trades on site |
| Variable quality of local workmanship | Finishes and provisions are made and checked at the plant |
| Hot or humid climates, rainy seasons | Fewer wet trades, less dependence on the weather |
| Long shipping times for replacement parts | Errors are corrected before shipping, not after |
| Many suppliers to coordinate | Walls, doors, ceilings and integrated fittings from one point of contact |
| Maintenance over the years | Removable panels and components from the same manufacturer |
How is the logistics of a hospital supply organised?
The logistics of a hospital supply is planned together with the construction programme. It is worth organising shipments by installation phase, so that what is needed reaches site when it is needed, and choosing packing suited to the mode of transport and to storage times.
Customs documents are part of the logistics too. A shipment held at customs for a missing document stops the site as surely as a faulty component.
What should you ask a supplier of hospital systems for a project abroad?
Before choosing a supplier for a hospital abroad, it is worth checking seven points.
- References in similar countries and settings.
- In-house manufacturing, for control over quality and lead times.
- Testing before shipping.
- Management of installation: who installs the systems and who is accountable for them.
- Complete technical documentation, including as-built records at the end of the works.
- Spare parts and support in the years that follow.
- A single point of contact for the whole supply.
How does ADAM work on hospital projects abroad?
ADAM S.r.l. entered international markets in 1995, in Europe and the former Soviet Union, and in 2008 started its first contracts in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Since 2006 it has developed SALUS, its modular system for healthcare environments. Today ADAM projects are spread across over 40 countries on four continents.
ADAM hospital supplies include Farwaniya Hospital in Kuwait, Al Marj Hospital and a paediatric operating theatre in Libya, Da Vinci Clinique in Morocco, Hôpital de Panzi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kawali Hospital and Ihsan Hospital in Indonesia, Hameed Latif Hospital in Pakistan, FS Hospital and MD Private Clinic in Australia, CHRC Private Hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a private clinic in Fiji, as well as projects in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy.
ADAM designs, machines, assembles and tests its systems at the plant in Bernate Ticino, near Milan. ADAM supports the client through four phases — consulting, budgeting, design and building ventures — with a single point of contact, as described on the Export and Services pages. The list of projects is on the Projects page.
A separate article covers modular hospital systems in Africa and the Middle East. For a project abroad, contact the ADAM team.