I don’t do much hospital work, so I need some assistance from my colleagues that have experience in this area. My client is looking for a spec for an addition to an existing hospital that addresses containment of pollutants during construction. IE; preventing dust etc that may go through the ducts. As I mentioned, this isn’t my area of expertise, so any input or sample specs are appreciated. robin@spectraspecs.com. Thanks!
Quite often the facility will have their own requirements for partitions/barriers. That’s primarily what I have used. But, you want barriers finished at least on the non-construction side, sealed against dust, etc., an STC rating, floor to ceiling (basically, a wall); doors with sticky walk-off mats; HVAC shut down/bypass of the area of construction..let me see if I can find anything.
From a liability standpoint, the hospital really has to furnish this information, because it has to comply with their infection control protocol. (and you can bet they have one of those. ) I wouldnt write this document for them – it has to come from the owner because it DIRECTLY relates to their liability.
I agree with Lynn, though. this document can often be several pages long. it should address the followiong items:
temporary partitions
storage of construction materials on or off site
access by contractors (ie, what door do they use; what elevator; where they are prohibited from going)
positive and negative pressure for the mechanical system. in some cases, I’ve had projects where we ran temporary ducting and had a dedicated exhaust system in the construction area.
control of “tracking in” pollutants from the outside
relocating truck traffic if adjacent to air intake
materials that can or cannot be used on the job site
cleaning of mechanical systems; changing of filters and replacement of portions of system that may become contaminated
daily cleaning of access points and of construction area
air-locks into construction location.
this can be a huge deal and it has to be carefully monitored.
Anne, you nailed it. I looked into what I’ve done in the past, and while I might have information in Division 01 (Temporary Facilities), the bulk of the requirements come from the Owner.
Sorry to be so late to the postings. SMACNA has a publication entitled “IAQ Guidelines for Occupied Buildings Under Construction.” It’s a good start.
You want to obtain a copy of the AIA Guidelines for the Design and Construction of Healthcare Facilities (2006) and base the specification of Temporary Facilities and Controls for Infection Control on this standard. It is also referenced by JCAHO.
Anne is correct - the facility owner is responsible for the welfare of occupants in a facility being renovated. However, while some hospitals have highly developed infection control direction, others benefit from some assistance. If your hospital client is weak in this area, you can develop drafts that address required contractor controls, but insist that the client retain a qualified infection control professional to advise them on the final content. See www.apic.com
Correction – this is like scip.com and scip.org. The address that Phil provides above is the “Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation” and while they might be a very fine corporation, health care infection control is probably not their forte.
You want: www.apic.org … which started out as the Association for Practitioners in Infection Control and now is the Association for Profesionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology Inc.
Boy - I gave away my part time lobbying job!
Probably too late to help Robin, but I have done a spec for this…although it probably wouldn’t be much help as it references the requirements of a CSA (Canadian Standards Association) Standard for infection control in healthcare facilities.
I agree with Phil’s comment about assistance. Even if they have a good infection control policy, these are not always worded in construction contract-type language. The one client we have done work for made some good edits/suggestions for my section; but there was still a lot of wordsmithing to be done on my part. This is similar to what I have experienced with Municipal government projects, where they insist that the same guys who “tenders” the snow plow blades prepares the front end for a multi-million dollar construction project. Those are always fun!
Paul, please send a copy to hollyrob19@gmail.com
Thanks!