During 2020 many companies were either forced to shut down or furlough a significant percentage of their personnel and significantly scale back operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At KR Wolfe, however, we were fortunate to access special SBA financing through the CARES Act, which enabled the company to keep all staff on the payroll and continue providing clients with outstanding construction, installation and renovation services.
We put together a detailed project recap highlighting a few of our successful projects in 2020.
February 2020: Healthcare Renovation Division
This single OR renovation was a smaller Stryker project for a hospital that imposed more regulations than most. The team participated in several coordinated phone calls before the project began and filled out all paperwork concerning Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) and egress pathways.
The project was scheduled for five days and included installing a new suspension reusing the existing light heads and installing two new VPA’s that required new structures to be attached to the underside of the deck. But after opening the ceiling we found that the deck did not contain the 5’ slab depicted on the structural drawings. The plan was revised to attach to the structural beams in the ceiling, requiring hardware from a vender that is closed on weekends.
Fortunately, KR Wolfe technicians procured the required hardware on Monday and buttoned up the project on Wednesday—slightly ahead of the original schedule. The hospital was very happy with quality of work.
March 2020: Installation and Integration Division
San Diego International Airport
KR Wolfe teamed up with Sita for the installation of 20 new indoor Samsung Displays and mini DDC PC’s at Terminal 2. The site has existing Audio Video equipment and KR Wolfe needed to make sure that the newly installed AV equipment matched the quality of the building and the equipment in place.
Project Services Provided
- Wire and dress all wiring behind each display and DDC
- Image and properly test each workstation with new equipment installed
- Remove existing LG displays and install (20) new Indoor 55’’ Samsung displays at American and Alaska Airlines in Terminal 2
- Install 100 new Digital Signage Mini DDC PC’s behind each display
May 2020: Field Service Division
This was a large nationwide Field Service project for Stryker Medical that included the inspection of 2,500 lighting systems at 400 facilities located across all 50 states. In addition to geographic challenges, the project required diligent coordination of logistics, scheduling, planning, tracking and flawless completion of inspection documents. KR Wolfe completed all inspections on-time and on-budget.
June 2020: Stryker Division
Stryker Communications/UCSD Medical Center
The KR Wolfe Healthcare Renovation Division worked with Stryker Communications to upgrade four operating rooms at the Hillcrest location of UCSD Medical Center over the span of two weekends to minimize OR downtime. These four ORs now have Stryker Chromophare Triple Light Suspensions—the latest surgical lighting on the market.
July 2020: Construction Services Division
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
When KR Wolfe received a request from AMD to provide immediate support to install (14) Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Cabinets in a secure DHS facility in Arlington, Virginia, the company knew just who to send. From the time the quote was accepted to completed installation, was less than 10 days. The KR Wolfe team: Allen Findley, Donna Walton and Mike Brady pulled together the knowledge and tools necessary and got the job done on-time and on-budget.
August 2020: Stryker Division
Mount Sinai Hospital
The Stryker Division at KR Wolfe worked closely with Stryker Communications on the upgrade of ten Operating Rooms at Mount Sinai Hospital. The project required the installation of Stryker Chromophare F628/UDM with different variations (F628=Light UDM=monitor or Flat Panel.)
Installation Equipment List
- Flat Panel Monitors with Storz integration
- 9x – Light/Flat Panel Suspensions
- 9x – Dual Light Suspensions
- 2x – Triple Suspensions (Light/Light/Flat Panel)
- 1x – Single light Suspension
KR Wolfe delivered the installations over the course of four weekends to minimize OR downtime which is extremely costly for healthcare facilities. Andrei Semenov was the KR Wolfe specialist onsite working with a Stryker technician.
September 2020: Healthcare Renovation
Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta GA
Piedmont Hospital is a challenging, recently completed Stryker project in Atlanta, Georgia that involved removing and replacing two Operating Room booms in three rooms in just five days.
First, the hardware for installing the booms was missing, so we went to a local vender and picked up the materials we needed to hang the equipment.
The second challenge was the facility had multiple unforeseen med-gas issues. Next, we found out that there was no CO2 in one of the rooms. We had to coordinate the installation of a zone valve box that supplied the CO2 to the room. The project was a success, and the facility was very happy with our performance and communication.
October 2020: Installation and Integration Division
San Diego International Airport (SITA)
This was a multi-phase project in which the KR Wolfe team was working for SITA to remove older self-check-in kiosks, install new kiosks and modify the baggage scales. Most of the project work onsite was performed in late night hours to minimize any interference or inconvenience for travelers during business hours.
November 2020: Construction Services Division
Sharp Grossmont Medical Plaza Outpatient Surgery Center
KR Wolfe completed a design/build construction project for the City of La Mesa to bring an existing decontamination room up to current code requirements. This included the installation of a Steris 3-compartment sink, a Steris washer/disinfector and a complete remodel of the room. Work included the demolition of all existing finishes, concrete slab demo, installation of underground plumbing, concrete patch back, in-wall framing/backing, upgraded electrical devices, new LED lighting, piping and relocation of two Neptune docking stations.
The project also included the installation of new hollow metal doors and hardware, new flooring, Acrovyn wall protection, new stainless-steel shelving and all new paint. The project was completed on-time, on-budget and under strict infection control measures as required while working in an occupied surgery suite.
New Beginning
It was a truly remarkable year, and thanks to our highly trained and dedicated employees across all business divisions, KR Wolfe delivered an array of construction, integration, field service and installation projects in 2020.
Every successful project begins with a friendly conversation. If you have an upcoming 2021 project you would like to discuss with our team, please CONTACT US.
