Operating Cost

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the second quarter of 2017. Key points include:

The University System of New Hampshire has selected Sightlines to perform a comprehensive Facility Condition Assessment and lifecycle study of core buildings on the four campuses that comprise the system, which includes approximately 9.6 million gsf of educational facilities and supporting infrastructure.

Geothermal heating and cooling exchange systems are proving to be a leading technology for achieving zero net energy consumption in cold climates. Geoexchange systems (also known as “geothermal heat pumps”) reduce energy consumption by using the earth to store heat and greatly improve HVAC efficiency. Using a network of closed-loop tubes buried deep underground, geoexchange systems require extensive planning, soil testing, and proper load design to function as intended, especially in energy-intensive lab environments. But when used with other strategies, they can play a significant role in reducing a facility’s HVAC-related energy use and carbon footprint.

Just Biotherapeutics is integrating PODs® made by G-CON Manufacturing into the construction of its biologics manufacturing building in China. Located in the Hangzhou Economic & Technology Development Area (HEDA), the cGMP plant will utilize the prefabricated cleanroom units to create a highly flexible and efficient facility. Completion is expected by early 2018.

Drexel University is initiating $6.6 million in energy efficiency upgrades at its Philadelphia campus. Funded by the state of Pennsylvania’s Campus Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF), the project will reduce energy consumption and emissions, upgrade five key buildings, increase comfort and safety in labs and classrooms, and lower overall operating costs. Upon completion, Drexel’s energy consumption will decrease by more than 25 percent in three science buildings and two mixed-use campus facilities which cumulatively account for more than 430,000 sf.

Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP) has relocated and consolidated three laboratories—Endocrine, Toxicology and Drug Monitoring, and the Proteomics Core Mass Spectrometry Development Lab (CMSL)—into a singular core mass spectrometry laboratory. The two-story, 65,000-gsf addition to the Superior Drive Support Center (SDSC) is 10 to 15 minutes from Mayo Clinic’s downtown Rochester, Minn., campus.

A new Centralized Research Support Facility (CRSF) at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) has created a host of benefits for the university and its Animal Care Program, including almost $13 million in savings to date, with more savings expected when existing space is reassigned. The project could signal a paradigm shift as available research space shrinks, but consolidation/centralization requires significant operational and cultural shifts.

Value engineering (VE) can save money on a BSL-3 project without compromising facility operations, lifecycle costs, regulatory compliance, or biocontainment requirements; if managed correctly, VE is an opportunity to improve a project, not just a cost-cutting tactic.

High-performance buildings are designed with the innovative features and advanced technology necessary to sustain peak operating efficiency, but they frequently fail to live up to their full potential, due to a number of factors: inadequate staffing; a lack of correctly configured technology; and a lack of proper instruction, capabilities, and skill sets of employees. Incorporating a process of building optimization can prevent these shortcomings.

Because it’s expensive to heat and cool outdoor air drawn into a building, workspaces tend to be ventilated only enough to meet ASHRAE minimums or achieve a LEED credit. But air quality profoundly affects workers’ cognitive performance, and even modest increases in ventilation can yield productivity and health benefits that far exceed the cost, says Joseph Allen, assistant professor and director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Pfizer broke ground in late June of 2016 on the $350 million Global Biotechnology Center in China. Located in the Hangzhou Economic Development Area (HEDA), the facility will manufacture pharmaceutical biosimilars, which are drugs designed with similar active properties to existing licensed therapies. The project will feature a modular production facility created by GE Healthcare that utilizes flexible, single-use biomanufacturing technologies. The duration of construction will be 18 months with completion expected in early 2018.

JHL Biotech opened a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in May of 2016 in Wuhan, China. Featuring single-use bioprocessing technologies, the cGMP facility utilizes GE Healthcare's prefabricated KUBio system to produce biosimilars and monoclonal antibodies for late–stage clinical trials and commercial supply. The project was completed in just 18 months.

Mercy Health began construction in September of 2016 on a $271 million medical center in Muskegon, Mich. Designed by HGA Architects and Engineers to increase patient care efficiencies, the nine-story, 267-bed tower will consolidate inpatient services in a single location as well as housing an emergency department, a trauma center, and surgical suites. In the design process, two-dimensional modeling of each floor progressed to architectural designs and then to full-scale models to enhance the success of lean operational strategies.

By consolidating 14 scientific cores under one organizational umbrella, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) has increased the visibility of cores across its campus, improved operational efficiency, and established a system of internal and external review, all while coming in under budget.

A remarkable evolution in the tools and methods of research is driving a host of trends in laboratory planning and design, including fewer permanently assigned offices, a decided prioritization of computational over “wet” space, and an emphasis on core facilities and shared equipment, according to a survey of research organizations and A/E/C firms conducted by Tradeline.