FROM THE BENCH
Renovation Realities:
Ensuring Continuity of Operations During Critical Repairs
by Anthony H. Gonzalez, PhD, HCLD(ABB), Chief, Public Health Laboratory Services, Sacramento County Department of Health Services
A laboratory is more than a room where
specimen testing is performed; it has
an infrastructure that includes lighting,
bench space, heating, air conditioning and
air flow control for Biosafety Level Three
areas and biological safety cabinets (BSC).
But let’s not forget another important part
of the infrastructure: the floor. Laboratory
floors take a regular beating from
movement of heavy equipment such as
freezers, large incubators and centrifuges,
constant cart and foot traffic, and
chemical and stain spills. Our laboratory
floor was not holding up.
From the Ground Up
During a site visit from county facilities
personnel, we pointed out cracks and
tears in the glued-on linoleum. The
next thing we knew, we were sitting at a
table with county architects, engineers,
plumbers, electricians and contractors
having conversations about capping off
water, gas, vacuum and air lines; moving
220 volt cables around; and dismantling
benches and sinks. Mysteriously, laying
down a laboratory floor was left out of our
microbiology training syllabus. While we
were somewhat overwhelmed, we had
been down this road once before.
Several years ago, new seamless linoleum
flooring was installed in other sections
of our laboratory. Unfortunately, the new
seamless flooring developed the same
problems seen in the old flooring. As a
result, Facilities decided on a different
floor type for the entire laboratory: a
poured epoxy floor onto the base concrete.
While this was better for longevity and
a tighter bond with the concrete floor,
we now had a larger issue: how to keep
the laboratory working during this major
renovation project.
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LAB MATTERS Fall 2019
“Before” and “after” views of the laboratory floor. Photo: Sacramento County
Keeping Operations Moving
The new floor installation was planned
in phases that related to laboratory
section rooms. Serology was first to get
its new floor, followed by bacteriology,
mycobacteriology, media prep and
specimen receiving. Using imagination
and lots of ingenuity, we ensured that
the section that was being renovated
was able to move or merge into a similar
section. As each section got its new floor,
we continued moving the work from one
location to another.
Movers, plumbers, carpenters and
electricians completely disassembled
each section. Afterwards electricians
and plumbers removed electrical outlets
and disconnected water and gas lines.
Each section’s BSC was decontaminated,
disassembled and moved to
predetermined storage spaces. Freezers
and refrigerators were moved to other
areas of the laboratory.
alternate sites. We found new ways to
direct workflow under new and confined
conditions. These conditions were at first
disorienting. Instead of going down one
hallway you went down another or turned
left instead of right to get to a particular
section. The watchwords were “remain
flexible”.
Flexibility is Key…and A Really
Good Plan
After months of dust and noise, we are
all back in our places with new floors.
Along the way, we learned a few things.
For example, we realized that specimen
receiving operations worked better at
its alternate site. In addition we learned
the value of our watchwords and remain
committed to carrying them forward
in other projects and in our mission to
provide quality public health laboratory
test results. n
Prior to a section’s complete disassembly,
the laboratory staff moved small
instruments, reagents, microscopes
and ancillary supplies to pre-planned
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