On June 10th, 2010, Triumvirate Environmental held an intimate roundtable discussion that focused on how to plan for potential problems in order to have a safe and successful lab renovation.
Kat Johnson facilitated the discussion of laboratory renovations with our experienced panel:
- Jim Field, Hazardous Waste Officer at Umass Amherst
- Mark Roberts, Environmental Project Manager at Harvard University
- Ryan Donahue, Supervisor of Science Facilities at Brandeis University
- Craig Sasse, Senior Engineer at Triumvirate Environmental.
The conversation largely focused on issues that can slow down a project and how to best prepare ahead of time. Many college campuses use the summer intersession to renovate their old and tired laboratory spaces. Often times, these projects have very strict deadlines, closely guarded budgets and very small margins for error. The slightest change in scope can skew a project for weeks. Not only does this frustrate faculty members who are constantly watching from afar, but it creates an uncertainty as to why these issues were not brought up in the planning stages.
The panel also discussed good management practices to proactively navigate the logistical and environmental surprises that can occur along the way. These include things such as, developing University SOP's and having a set guideline for decommissioning work. The University panelists above illustrated excellent examples of how college's EHS team can effectively execute a lab renovation.