Danny Van Hove
Department head of infrastructure / Construction coordinator
After the University Hospital, AZ Sint-Lucas is the largest hospital in Ghent. It is the merger of what were originally 3 autonomous Ghent hospitals: AZ Heilige Familie, AZ Sint-Vincentius and AZ Volkskliniek. AZ Sint-Lucas has 905 beds, more than 200 doctors and more than 2,000 employees. Danny Van Hove is Head of Infrastructure / Construction Coordinator. "On the one hand, I manage the Buildings Department, a small internal engineering office with 3 engineers (electricity, dynamic techniques and construction) and 2 architects, who monitor the design, tendering and implementation of construction projects. On the other hand, there is the Technical Maintenance Department, which manages the operation of the buildings until the next reconversion phase."
"At the time of the first merger – at the end of the 1990s – a master plan was drawn up with a dozen projects. I joined the company at the end of 1999 and the first project – a new building of 18,000 m2 – started in 2000. The project team had already been assembled: De Vloed for the architecture, Sweco (ex-Libost Group) for the stability and Ingenium for the techniques. We've been working together ever since. The second project was the integration of the campuses of AZ Heilige Familie and AZ Sint-Vincentius, which used to be neighbours but worked completely separately. At the time, we were the first in Flanders to divide the buildings with numbered streets instead of the former colour codes. After the merger with AZ Volkskliniek, it was decided to fully integrate this operation on the Sint-Lucas campus. Recently, there were two large new construction projects with buildings C and W. Since 2000, we have realized more than 80,000 m2 of new construction and renovations with this construction team. In addition, we concluded a separate contract with Ingenium for the energy master plan, which focuses on the operational reliability of the installations and energy-saving measures."
"Because we do a lot of extra projects and activities in-house, my engineers can't work out the big projects all by themselves. Ingenium relieves us of our worries by drawing up specifications, plans and tender files, in consultation with De Vloed. They then follow up on the actual tender and the execution of the works. They are the link between the client, the contractor and the designer in all major projects.
"Thanks to the long cooperation, we have a good relationship. We know each other and know what to expect from each other. Bram, our contact person at Ingenium, is also someone who ensures that there are few tensions or problems thanks to good agreements. And if they do occur, a solution is always found through consultation."
"Ingenium is an engineering firm with a great deal of competence and experience. They listen to us and take into account our wishes as a client. They respond flexibly to our rapidly changing world. The fact that both in my own team and at Ingenium the people we work with have been the same for a long time ensures continuity and stability. Of course, there has to be a match, and that is indeed the case here. Moreover, there is also a good relationship between the fees we pay and the service we receive in return."
