Frankston Hospital redevelopment - Newsletter #5 | August 2024

• Façade panels will continue to wrap around the main tower and multi-deck carpark
• Hundreds of crane movements will continue daily
• Internal fit out of the main tower will continue, including services installation and internal wall sheeting
• The new emergency department entrance was completed and opened in August, and internal refurbishment works will continue
• Works to upgrade the intersection of Hastings Road and Yuille Street will start in August and continue until early 2025. We're coordinating with Frankston City Council and Department of Transport to complete these works. Nearby residents will be notified of any impacts ahead of time.

The tree on top of the tower

In July, there was a tree on top of the Frankston Hospital redevelopment tower – a Bunya Pine tree.

In the construction world, 'topping out' signifies the point a building reaches its maximum height and is structurally complete. Traditionally, topping out ceremonies involve placing a tree on the building's highest point to celebrate the milestone and work completed so far.

The tree also symbolises hope for a secure project completion and a blessing for the building's future inhabitants.

The practice of 'topping out' dates back thousands of years, and spans across many cultures. Today, topping out ceremonies continue to be celebrated all over the world using trees, branches, flags or streamers.

Meet the team

Teamwork makes the dream work – the crane crew

Nipper, Cam, Tommy and Guy make up one of the crane crews helping to deliver your hospital redevelopment. Teamwork and communication are important for this crew who rotate between operating the crane, and being a person on the ground – known as dogmen or 'doggies'.

When a crane is moving, there is an operator in the cabin and three doggies at different heights and locations across the site. The doggies are additional eyes for the operator and advise when it's clear to lift, guiding the operator to another doggie, who is waiting to load or unload material.

The team communicates via two-way radio and hand signals, to help the crane operator accurately move loads.

There are many types of cranes and for this project, we're using electric luffing cranes. To get into the cab, Nipper, Cam, Tommy and Guy climb around 100 steps up the internal ladder – with the appropriate safety gear – and this takes five to 10 minutes. Once inside, they use joysticks to complete precise movements.

The cranes move heavy or bulky materials such as steel, concrete, plant and equipment within the site boundary. And like most construction jobs, their work is weather dependent – the biggest influences being wind and rain.

Nipper and Tommy have been working together for almost 25 years and Guy and Cam joined the team during the last couple of jobs.

Faces of Frankston Hospital

Dianne Stratton, Patient Services Assistant

'I've worked in theatre for over 12 years and my role primarily involves transporting patients from theatre to the wards and assisting nursing staff in patient recovery. I find my role very rewarding as it allows me to support unwell and sometimes nervous patients before their surgeries, and our patients are so grateful!'

'Working at Peninsula Health feels like we are one big family! This job changed my life – it gave me strength and helped me realise that I'm not alone as I always have the support of my work colleagues.'

'I was involved in the design user groups, sharing my feedback on behalf of my team and our patients. It's such a great feeling to have my voice heard, and have the opportunity to represent my team.'

'The redevelopment has created excitement amongst staff and the community and it will be amazing when it's finished.'

Connecting2Australia partnership

The Frankston Hospital redevelopment project has been working with Connecting2Australia (C2A), a Frankston based disability social enterprise that provides individualised care and employment opportunities for people with disability.

Our partnership has led to considerable business growth for C2A, increasing employment opportunities for people with disability.

C2A have built outdoor furniture for the project site office and are now the contracted cleaning service for the new multi-deck carpark.

Frankston Hospital redevelopment and YMCA rebuilding lives

Since 2010, YMCA ReBuild has been providing gainful employment opportunities to young individuals who have a history with the criminal justice system.

Starting out as a small-scale handyman business, ReBuild has since become a trusted partner on major construction sites, helping create more employment opportunities for young people to achieve their full potential.

With the support of an ongoing partnership with Lendlease, ReBuild was able to land its first major construction site works contract on the Frankston Hospital redevelopment project in 2023, delivering site establishment works.

Renae Lowry, ReBuild Interim Executive, said working on the Frankston Hospital redevelopment was a turning point for ReBuild and is a significant milestone for individuals coming through the program.

'For seven years, ReBuild and Lendlease's partnership has created jobs for 119 young individuals, five of those on the Frankston Hospital redevelopment project,' Renae said.

'Our work on the project has helped define ReBuild as a trusted partner within the construction industry, capable of delivering a substantial scope of work on a tier 1 construction site.'

'This in turn provides sustainable and substantial benefits to the hard-working individuals who are committed to improving their life.'

Further information on the Frankston Hospital redevelopment is available on our dedicated project page.