In this presentation we will explore the following five suggestions to answer the question:  What can we do with the design of our buildings to encourage behaviors that will inherently lead to safe work practices?

1.  Plan to make the gowning and access to Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) as effective as possible - The act of gowning and de-gowning is a constant reality for these kinds of spaces.  Unfortunately it is too often the last item considered.  Every time a worker must enter containment space they are committing a minimum of 15 minutes to don protective clothing and another 15 minutes to doff the material properly.  Make two trips per day into containment and you've lost an hour of your day.  Why isn't it obvious that we must commit adequate space for this activity?  More importantly we must carefully consider making proper hand washing and toilet facilities readily accessible to reinforce how important actions such as hand washing are in the prevention of exposure.

2.  Encourage situational awareness - By their nature containment spaces can be a confusing maze.  They can have very utilitarian finishes and look so similar that staff can easily become disoriented.  The use of color and/or graphics on various rooms could make a huge difference.  The use of glazing in barrier walls can simultaneously improve orientation, operational efficiency, because you may not have to open a door to find a colleague and safety because we all behave differently when we can be observed.

3.  Provide access to natural light - I'm not naive enough to think that we'll ever have windows in containment spaces, but the idea of knowing if the sun is shining without having to entirely leave the containment space seems far from impossible.

4.  Think about how people will accomplish non-laboratory related tasks - In spite of the need to focus on this highly dangerous work, researchers are people too.  They get emergency calls from home that a child is sick, they have to respond to e-mails, they need to take notes to document things and they need to communicate with each other.  Is it too much to ask to have a small space for data reduction in a location that doesn't require them to commit a half hour to gowning and de-gowning?

5.  Carefully plan material and people flow simultaneously - In addition to people, animals, samples, cages, feed, bedding, chemicals, glassware, gowns and varied supplies must all move through the facility.  Given that people of varied education, security clearances and containment experience must move these materials, there are countless stories of how just one well-placed equipment air-lock or material pass-through had a positive impact on operations and prevented a potential exposure.

Bio:  Larry DiGennaro, AIA, LEED AP
Larry is a Client Leader for the Science Team.  He has a depth of experience in programming and planning complex laboratory projects.  Larry has been involved in R&D projects throughout the central Ohio region, completing in excess of 100 projects for clients such as Battelle, which led to the establishment of our Columbus office.  He has also been involved with projects for Boehringer Ingelheim's Roxane Labs, The Procter & Gamble Co., Barr Laboratories, and the Scott Company.  In his twenty years of experience, Larry has served as principal-in-charge, project manager, project architect,  project designer and construction administrator.
 

Bio:  George L. Kemper, RA
With a passion for laboratory design, George Kemper has planned over one million square feet of lab space with project experience in higher education, R&D, pharmaceutical lab markets and lab animal facilities.  He leads studies for complete vivarium renovations as well as NIH grant proposals.  His laboratory experience includes specialized facilities such as BSL-3 viral vector laboratories, hazardous chemical storage areas, zebrafish facilities and more.  His current responsibilities include programming, planning, design development, production and topic of translational research and casework.  He has been involved in programming, design and field administration for over 15 years.