"The NIH/NIAID is supporting design and construction of high-level research laboratories that will provide the secure facilities needed to carry out the nation's expanded biodefense research program in a setting of safety for both workers and the surrounding communities," says Terry Pollin, assistant vice president for operations at the University.

UMDNJ's lab, known as the New Jersey Medical School Center for Infectious Disease Research, is slated for occupancy in April 2008 three blocks from the University's Newark campus. The $22.6-million facility, to be located in the University Heights Science Park, will feature a structural steel frame on caissons with three floors plus a mechanical penthouse. More than 10,000 sf of the 42,000-sf building will be dedicated to ABSL-3 space with the remainder used for BSL-3 research, animal holding areas, and insect research.

As the nation's largest freestanding public university of health sciences with 14,000 faculty/staff members and more than 5,000 students, UMDNJ had compelling reasons to pursue the RBL grant. The University's New Jersey Medical School, as one of UMDNJ's eight schools located on six campuses, conducted innovative research that led to the establishment of the New Jersey Center for Biodefense in 1999.

In 2003, UMDNJ became one of the 10 lead institutions of the Northeast Biodefense Center, which received a multi-year federal award to create one of eight Regional Centers of Excellence for biodefense and emergency infectious disease research.

UMDNJ is viewed as a hub for biodefense research with its close proximity to the International Center for Public Health (ICPH), which is also located in the University Heights Science Park. The ICPH houses the Public Health Research Institute, the Medical School's Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, and the National Tuberculosis Center of UMDNJ.

"Understanding your institute's core mission and then deciding if a project is a logical extension or enhancement of that mission is an important factor in determining the level of commitment to a project," says David Schulz, director of construction for UMDNJ. "The RBL not only comports with what the University does, it also builds upon a critical mass of facilities, talent, and science that already exists."

Teaming Up to Complete Grant Application

When representatives from UMDNJ's Medical School and Facilities Planning and Construction (FP&C) Department decided to proceed with the grant application, they quickly assembled a team of key players from within the University and from outside firms. The application process began in October 2002 and concluded in February 2003.

The project team included individuals from the FP&C and the Medical School, as well as the Departments of Operations, Risk, and Claims; Educational and Occupational Health and Safety Services; Public Safety; and Information Services and Technology. External team members included the NIH/NIAID, CUH2A Architecture/Engineering/Planning, Turner Construction Company, and Dome-Tech Commissioning Services. Pollin, Schulz, and Nancy Connell, director of the New Jersey Center for Biodefense, served as team leaders.

"The difficult projects have little teamwork and the best projects have extraordinary teamwork," says Pollin. "A solid project team assembled early on and guided by strong leaders is of paramount importance."

In order to avoid getting sidetracked and losing time, team leaders established goals and ground rules to coincide with the project's scope, budget, and schedule. Every meeting began with a reminder of the primary goals and the desired outcome. Likewise, every major design and science decision was reviewed in terms of the goals and ground rules. The result was a solid proposal demonstrating the University's commitment to complete the RBL in accordance with the terms of the NIAID's Broad Agency Announcement (BAA).

"The goals and ground rules must be developed before major efforts are undertaken and then repeated, verified, and validated along the way," notes Schulz. "During development of the grant application, our project team looked closely at reference standards such as the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) and NIH design guidelines."

Challenging Issues

The project team encountered and overcame challenges relevant to the lab's design, future construction and operations, as well as communications. The RBL as designed does not vary significantly from that described in the grant application.

"This is a testament to a well prepared proposal," says Schulz. "We're currently at the beginning of the design development phase."

The site plan shows the RBL located adjacent to the ICPH in a redevelopment zone at the University Heights Science Park. The lab is ringed by bollards and fencing to maintain vehicular and pedestrian control. The challenges of an urban site require the University to close a city street for setback and access control purposes.

"The complexity of efforts required to balance the physical aspects of risk mitigation with urban design was underestimated by all on the project team during preparation of the grant application," says Pollin.

The first floor provides a secure entry sequence, building support, and a loading dock shared by the ICPH and RBL. In an effort during the schematic design to right-size the floors above and provide adequate space for future infrastructure components, the loading dock was squeezed into a space that was too small. The team quickly learned not to downsize truck bays because it is not easy to recover space during the design development.

The second floor houses BSL-3 and BSL-2 labs, and support areas. The grant application showed a single BSL-3 suite, but the NIAID pushed for flexibility to meet future changes. Although there was slight resistance among the University team members to deviate from a design they were comfortable with in their other labs, they considered splitting the BSL-3 into a number of suites. This design would offer the flexibility of working on different agents at the same time and provide the ability to decontaminate one suite while keeping the adjacent one operational. Ultimately, a two-suite arrangement was agreed upon.

The layout of the third floor, which is dedicated to ABSL-3 and related vivarium support, was informed by good materials flow and personnel traffic flow.

Good maintenance practices were the primary drivers for the design of the penthouse level with its mezzanine.

The largest issue dealt with during design was the threat and risk assessment. The University had done such assessments for BSL-3 labs in the past, but never in light of the lab being a national asset. It presented a difficult community relations and internal sell. Six months of progress were lost while the University considered the implication of the assessment.

"The most challenging issues we faced during design were the setback distances, site elements, and building hardening that were driven by the need for protection of assets which came out of the threat and risk assessment," says Schulz. "The setbacks and site elements come with a cost implication. Since money for one design element can be squeezed out of another most of the time, the real implications of the site planning are urban design and community relations."

Redundancy and flexibility of electrical service presented a challenge that is being addressed. Other challenges anticipated during construction include unprecedented cost escalation for materials, limited availability of concrete and cement, and a trade labor shortage of masons and concrete contractors in New Jersey.

Commissioning and certification could also delay the project schedule, but team members understand the importance of analyzing the building for several months after construction to ensure it provides the highest level of safety.

"The building is going to sit there for five months while we validate and it is a tough sell to get people to understand the importance of this validation," says Pollin.

Operational challenges include a maintenance cost of $27 per sf. Redundancy will be a factor with additional full-time employees on board to maintain equipment. Specialized employees will be hired to assist the University's staff with general maintenance. Logistical services, centering around topics such as scanning incoming mail, and security measures to protect the public, the staff, and the building will be of critical importance.

Communication struggles have been overcome by maintaining an open dialog with the NIH and interaction between the scientists, design and construction team, and the individuals who will be responsible for the operation of the RBL. Facilitating a monthly conference call between representatives of all nine RBLs helps the University understand the issues and concerns being encountered at the other sites.

"We have found these conference calls to be very, very beneficial," says Pollin.

Community relations is viewed as a weakness in the University's communications because the efforts did not begin very early on in the design process. Team members have learned the importance of informing the community about a project in the beginning and continuing public relations on a regular basis.

Lessons Learned

Considering risk and threat assessment, establishing extraordinary communications with all parties, and involving the community in the early stages of a project are critical to its success.

Adapting to changing team members during the long process from the 2002 grant application to the 2008 occupancy is inevitable. Establishing ground rules and guidelines, and revisiting them often, can help with the transitions.

Team members also advise making careful consideration of the budget and schedule to ensure the application figures are close to the dollars and dates realized during actual construction.

"In hindsight, we could have played devil's advocate more, challenged our own assumptions, and questioned our own interpretations of some of the NIH requirements," says Schulz.

By Tracy Carbasho

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