KSW: Hospital with Vision

After ten years of planning and construction, the replacement new building for the Winterthur Cantonal Hospital (KSW) went into operation in early 2022. An architecture award and certification as a sustainable building in the Minergie-P-Eco category underline the fact that it is an exemplary institution for regional health care. The catchment area of the KSW is constantly being expanded and the hospital is now one of the ten largest hospitals in the country.

«More than 100,000 people will be born here. More than one million people will spend time in hospital here,» predicts CEO Rolf Zehnder for the next 40 years. This is how long the high-tech building is expected to be in operation. During this time, the infrastructures must function reliably and be ready to support the rapidly changing generations of medical technology.

A test of patience

The project managers from the city, the cantonal administration, and the KSW had to overcome a number of hurdles and tests of their patience. The project had to be integrated into the existing complex in the middle of the city in stages. The new 13-story building with a lightweight travertine facade replaces a 55-year-old high-rise. In the course of the planning, new technologies for medical and building technology came onto the market and had to be integrated.

Construction work was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The responsible teams, in particular the installation partner Melcom AG from Zurich, were nevertheless able to complete the cabling on time. Reliable material procurement, just-in-time delivery of pre-terminated distributors, and R&M’s measurement services were crucial. «We were able to rely fully on R&M,» says Jasmin Lonic, senior project manager at Melcom AG.

Digitalization

«The future is digital. I firmly believe that digitalization will make our lives easier. For example, when patients can register with us digitally without having to wait a long time,» says Alexander Nelles, CIO of the KSW.

A futuristic-looking hybrid operating theater with robots, monitors, and precise 3D digital imaging techniques enables fast, minimally invasive, and gentle procedures. Automated shading of the windows ensures a pleasant climate in the 213 patient rooms. Patients have a view over the city and the mountains from their beds through floor-to-ceiling windows.

A considerable amount of persuasion

The far-sighted decision to systematically pursue the path of digitalization and automation in medical and building technology required more than conventional structured cabling. «The network was an important topic right from the start. The specialist planners built the entire new building around the cabling concept,» explains Werner Jampen, Head of Network Technology at KSW. However, he first had to do a lot of persuading. This involved listing R&M’s advisory and international expertise in hospital projects.

In particular, it was a matter of planning sufficiently large distribution rooms. The 46 new rooms must provide reserves for future IT and network generations. «In hospitals, it is imperative to plan very long-term,» says Werner Jampen from his own experience. And all his persuasion paid off. Resources were approved.

The R&M solutions also impressed. The project management team decided early on to primarily use network solutions from R&M in addition to KNX bus systems for parts of building automation. The cooperation has already been in place for many years.

Helpful manual

Factors for the smooth installation and commissioning of the networks included the R&M manual, prepared specially for the KSW. The documentation produced by R&M in conjunction with Werner Jampen specifies the cabling components to be used in the KSW. This simplifies material ordering and installation planning.

The manual explains the cabling in network cabinets and the wiring of the Cat. 6_A EL module and defines the convention for the labeling of ports and links. It also describes guidelines for standard measurements as the basis of R&M’s long-term system warranties.