Optimizing Complex Healthcare Construction with Early, Advanced Planning
McCarthy Building Companies was tasked with constructing a new 900,000-square-foot hospital building for the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. The “California Tower” will be a 13-floor facility housing a variety of critical functions, including acuity-adaptable patient rooms, imaging, lab support, a burn unit, and operating rooms.
Given its complexity, McCarthy recognized the need for an advanced planning and coordination platform as early as the Schematic Design Development phase. Touchplan emerged as the ideal solution to manage the multiple phases, increments, and teams involved.
How Touchplan Helped McCarthy
- Effective Coordination Across Phases and Teams: McCarthy leveraged Touchplan to integrate every phase of the project, ensuring all moving parts remained synchronized.
- Structured Decision-Making and Design Challenge Resolution: By organizing key decisions and design challenges in a centralized platform, the team-maintained focus and efficiency.
- Smooth Transition from Conceptual Design to Construction: Touchplan facilitated a well-managed progression of collaboration from early-stage planning, keeping teams aligned and informed.
Early Involvement for Maximum Impact
The project is being executed through a progressive Design-Build approach, where McCarthy, as the contractor, collaborates with the owner and design team from the project’s conception to completion.
“We got involved in the project during the Program Validation phase,” said Naomi Whitesel, Director of Integrated Design at McCarthy Building Companies. “As contractors, we contribute expertise in cost, constructability, scheduling, and quality. Being involved early allows us to provide real-time input, ensuring that design decisions align with project goals.”
The design-build methodology ensures that contractors and trade partners participate in early-stage planning, allowing design issues related to cost, schedule, and constructability to be addressed proactively. This approach also enables teams to harness the benefits of the Last Planner System® even before construction begins.
“The designers need to introduce the details of their workflow so we can identify key opportunities for engagement,” added Whitesel. “This is where Touchplan and the Last Planner System are invaluable. They expose workflows, making it easy to see who is working on what and when. This visibility allows us to contribute expertise at the right moments.”
Full-Team Collaboration with Touchplan
Before construction began, all project stakeholders started actively using Touchplan. In the platform, the project appears as a network of hundreds of tags, each representing a different role, company, or discipline—including design teams, code consultants, the owner team, and McCarthy’s project team.
“We’re using Touchplan to organize all ongoing work,” Whitesel explained. “With so much activity happening simultaneously—design, technology, estimating, and scheduling—Touchplan enables us to see how every element fits together. It’s deeply embedded in our workflow and culture.”
By implementing Touchplan and the Last Planner System digitally, McCarthy has set the project up for success, fostering collaboration and efficiency from the start.
“Touchplan is the closest digital equivalent to using actual sticky notes,” Whitesel said. “I can’t imagine managing this project without the technology we have in place.”
The Results: Digital Lean Efficiency with Touchplan
Touchplan has delivered significant benefits, including:
- Effective coordination across multiple project phases, increments, and teams.
- Real-time communication between the owner and design team.
- Comprehensive pre-construction planning, ensuring all teams are well-prepared before breaking ground.
By embracing Touchplan, McCarthy has successfully improved collaboration, increased visibility, and set a strong foundation for the California Tower project’s success.
