General Session: Biocontainment lab projects -- lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid

Three big project issues you need to address up-front in biocontainment facility projects are: 1) the pressure of unusually short time schedules, 2) containment inexperience on the part of project managers and contractors, and 3) the operational criticality of a successful project outcome. Dr. Ole Sorensen analyzes these project elements as experienced in Alberta’s fast-track, generic CL-3 containment facility project. He reports on lessons learned regarding “generic” designs for containment facilities, making compromises in the interest of schedule, low-bid contract awards, handling discrepancies between specifications and drawings, inexperienced team players, and complex commissioning processes.

• Ole Sorensen, PhD , Head, Biology Section - Alberta Agriculture, Agri-Food Laboratories