OM in the News: Building a Hospital in Wuhan, China in 10 Days FEBRUARY 4, 2020 by Barry Render tags: China, coronavirus, hoopital, project mangaement Among the serious issues facing China as the coronavirus continues to spread, are the impact of the border, factory, and store closings, and shutdowns which are beginning to affect global supply chains from auto parts to iPhones (see our blog on Feb. 2,2020). Facing criticism that the official response to the outbreak was delayed, the Chinese government has stepped up containment. One of its initiatives was to build two new hospitals in Wuhan in 10 days! Since our Chapter 3 video case study, "Project Management at Arnold Palmer Hospital," details that 60 month construction task (which included 13 months of planning), this OM project is worth discussing with your class. Here is how The New York Times (Feb. 4, 2020) describes the task, which began on Jan. 24th: Construcfion feums of 7,000 workers with armies of trucks and excavitors dung and scriped around the clock. The cify government completed a feat reculling the SARS epidemic of 2003, when Beijing built a hospital in at weck. For Chana, the new Wuhan facility would also serve at a potent symbol of the government's drize fo do what meeds to be done. Leaders pledged to burild the 1,000-bed conplex in 10 days and wotred that another new 1,600-bed hospital would be ready by Feb. 5. Wuhat, at city of 11 million, has been eerily quief since the authorities locked it down, preventing residents from leving and severely limiting public frinsportation and prieate curs. But the ronds around the hospifal building site were packed with cement mixers, frucks and other construction vehicles. Migrant workers and suppliers of materials were noped in fo build the complex. Workplace safety precautions inchuded tempenuture checks fo try fo detect signs of coronavirus infections. By Fet. 3nd, ambulances begun transporting patients to the new hospital. Classroom discussion qestions: 1. How did this project differ from the construction of the Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando? 2. Could this project be replicated in the US? Why or why not