Tradeline asked 115 individuals representing 94 research organizations to prioritize their areas of focus for 2013 and to make open-ended comments regarding these priorities. The priorities identified in this survey will be the focus of Tradeline's upcoming conference: The 2013 International Conference on Research Facilities on May 9-10 in Boston.
The respondents’ overall priorities, in order of importance, are:
- Renovations and upgrades
- Space utilization
- Operations and maintenance
- Energy and sustainability
- Mechanical systems and equipment
Renovations and upgrades for new research program requirements
Facilities renovations and upgrades to accommodate new scientific equipment and research requirements are at the top of research program agendas again for 2013. There is a particular focus on integration and sharing of office and lab space, scientific equipment, and financial resources. High on the list of priorities are neighborhooding considerations when planning renovations, and best practices for integrating new research teams and related equipment into existing space for synergy and efficiency. As always, flexibility and adaptability plans and features are increasingly in demand, and processes to implement these new flexibility solutions at a low cost are essential. There is a heightened focus on facilities and lab designs that function as incubators with a business focus that facilitates modern science and fast translation of new discoveries into marketable products. New thinking is needed to shift the focus of planning and design to business-driven research facility features and functionality.
Representative statements regarding renovations and upgrades to laboratory facilities:
- Is there a practical way to plan for the future, since research construction projects and major renovations can be outmoded by the time they are complete?
- How do we maintain an open and flexible lab environment? How are multiple groups sharing common equipment?
- How do we best bring investigators working on similar themes into physical proximity in order to create synergy?
- We need to keep up with the trend towards more computational vs. wet lab research.
- We need solutions to keep neighboring labs operating when one is being reconstructed.
- What brings the most value in renovations—flexibility, HVAC energy retrofit, adaptability?
- What are the latest solutions for strategic placement of research teams and disciplines to improve research productivity and collaboration?
- What percentage of construction costs—cost/sf—are folks spending on deferred maintenance when renovating research labs?
- What are the new planning mechanisms that better enable modern science and research tools and actually produce quantifiable results (products in the marketplace)?
Space Utilization
Space planning and utilization continue to rank high in priority. Solutions to increase lab density and maximize space utilization are critical for capital project and research program planners to reduce the need for expansion. Lab and support space location and successful strategies for neighborhooding are needed to ease workflow, increase productivity, and strengthen interdisciplinary ties. In addition, new methods to force consolidation and sharing of rare, expensive scientific equipment among researchers are needed, including ways to facilitate seat/space sharing for research and office personnel. Organizations now recognize that they can no longer afford “siloed” and “solo” departments and researchers, not only from a cost perspective, but also because they yield inferior research and discovery results. Collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts are now preferred practice, however new benchmarks and metrics are needed which qualify and quantify productivity of research space that was designed with collaboration and interconnectivity in mind: What is working? New data on the best lab module is now in question, as there is a trend toward computational space and dry labs.
Representative statements regarding space utilization:
- The digital workforce is becoming more prevalent. How do we reduce built space when virtual workspace is the future?
- How best to plan for the long term—understanding the different space models for lab/lab office support, and reviewing lab module designs?
- What are the new models for efficient space utilization?
- How is space being allocated, and how can existing space be modified in order to be better utilized?
- We need to know the research productivity metrics that dictate targets for space utilization (for assignable space).
- With the shift towards more PC-based research projects, what type of work station and space standards are acceptable?
- What are the new metrics for the relationship between lab, lab support, write-up space, interaction, and faculty space?
- Best practices, best practices, best practices. What are they for space allocation and space utilization for productivity?
- What are the new techniques to design labs and floor plans for research workflow?
Operations and maintenance
Efficiency in operations and maintenance, and the need to reduce operating expenses continue to loom large. Operating and maintaining safe laboratories with persistent annual budget cuts isn’t sustainable, yet that’s the precarious position many managers still find themselves in. Now that most of the low-hanging fruit in operations cost reduction has been picked, what is the next level of cost reduction on lab facilities? New methods to analyze building systems and equipment and identify current peak performance potential are needed, along with strategies to retrofit older buildings with new technology and systems that can be installed at low cost and high ROI. In newer facilities that have been retrofitted in the past few years, strategies are needed to maintain and ensure peak operating performance of these systems long into the future. New cost-cutting technologies and processes are emerging, such as demand-based control, which provides substantial savings from reduced air change rates without compromising safety or compliance. New strategies to get accurate repair/replace assessments of extensive service infrastructure, and development of prioritized multi-year replacement plans with limited capital funding are needed.
Representative statements regarding operations and maintenance:
- What methods are used to maintain building operations at peak performance?
- How do we optimize the bang for the buck and identify, recruit, train, and retain qualified tradespeople?
- We need methods to minimize the cost of operations and maintenance, and systems that are cost-effective in the long-term.
- We need accurate repair/replace assessments of infrastructure, and methods to develop multi-year replacement plans with limited capital funding.
- What are the latest and greatest technologies to reduce energy and therefore operations cost?
- What new building management systems provide the best ROI?
- Tips and tricks on modern lab maintenance. How do we efficiently (cheaply) maintain a modern laboratory building?
Energy and sustainability
Reducing energy demand continues to be the primary means to reduce operating costs and carbon footprint, so it remains a high priority for 2013. HVAC systems continue to be the largest energy hog for research facilities, so air change rates need to be questioned. Regulatory compliance and safety requirements are the biggest hurdles, however there are new developments with Demand Based Control (DBC) that are proving to be one of the most successful strategies in general chemistry/biochemistry science and research labs, even those housing research animals. New thinking is needed for controlling electrical demand by refrigeration systems, freezer farms, and cold rooms, as these support systems and spaces are becoming pervasive. Look for an increase in focused metering initiatives for labs, specific equipment, and animal facilities, as these facilities become targets for energy efficiency retrofits and carbon footprint reduction objectives from upper administrative levels. Also needed are benchmarking data for energy use grouped by similar facilities, and strategies to calculate carbon footprint and determine reduction targets and time frames. Energy use dashboard display tools that end users can readily view are proving useful in improving awareness of lab energy use—closing sashes, turning off equipment—and reducing energy costs.
Representative statements regarding energy and sustainability:
- What are the details behind reduced air change studies and proven data for lab environments—compliance and safety are our concerns.
- We need details on energy-efficient fume hoods: face velocity studies, proven data.
- Energy costs for research seem to grow at an ever-expanding rate. How best do we cope with that in the long run?
- We need the tools and dashboards to bring awareness of energy use to the end users.
- What are the processes and tools that we can use to best measure and reduce campus-wide carbon footprint? What are the benchmarks?
- How do we reduce energy use with the minimum amount of capital expenditure?
- What is the latest thinking on energy efficiency with refrigeration systems such as air handlers, minus-80°C freezers, cold rooms? What makes and models offer the best running costs while meeting low carbon requirements?
- How do we improve energy efficiency in lab designs specifically relating to shared equipment—i.e. grouping fume hoods, freezer farms?
- What are the latest developments in the quest for net-zero research facilities?
Mechanical systems and equipment
Perhaps the biggest challenge for MEP systems and equipment is getting up to speed on the new operating technologies and control systems that are being implemented today: system costs, operation and maintenance needs, and ROI. Benchmarks, metrics, and real operating experience are in demand. Some of these new technologies such as Demand Based Control, sensor and smart building control technologies, and building energy management systems (BEMS) can help reduce first cost of buildings by reducing the number of air changes and therefore tonnage of HVAC systems. New approaches to phased renovation projects that might address major deferred MEP maintenance are also of high interest.
Representative statements regarding mechanical systems and equipment:
- How do new sensor technologies reduce costs in development of real-time operating and capacity constraint assessments?
- How are other organizations handling performance and monitoring of building systems to ensure operational safety and malfunction reporting? Best practices?
- The big issue we face is how we improve our energy management across the board.
- What new equipment and software is available to make systems more efficient?
- What new MEP upgrades or improvements have proved their worth?
- Are there any good approaches to phase renovation projects that address major MEP deferred maintenance?
- What energy recovery systems are working? What is the ROI, and when shouldn’t they be applied?
- We need to better integrate our building control systems. Systems are getting more complicated and fractured.
