Joe Shackley, marketing manager, Guardtech, writes about the company’s mobile controlled environment solutions and their continued need to fight COVID-19.
Guardtech
The UK recently passed the 20 million-mark for COVID-19 vaccinations, while the R rate of infection also dropped below 1 for the first time since July.
It feels like we are finally beginning to make progress in our bid to tackle this devastating Coronavirus pandemic. But now is not the time for complacency.
With the government having unveiled their “roadmap” out of national lockdown restrictions and schools opening their doors again this week, it’s fair to assume the worst days are behind us.
Yet the requirement for controlled environments continues to grow at an exponential rate due to the increased demands imposed by COVID-19.
Guardtech
And this is no more evident for Guardtech than an ever-growing list of orders for their innovative CleanCube portable cleanrooms.
The Haverhill firm’s commercial director Mark Wheeler revealed that it is currently building another two BSL2 shipping containers for one of its biggest clients, but as many as ten more are in the pipeline, as well as two of their Luton Box Van cleanrooms, which have also proved immensely in the past year.
Wheeler, whose company specialise in turnkey construction cleanroom design & build projects, is more than happy to continue their foray into the mobile cleanroom field in a bid to support the national effort.
“Demand for our mobile cleanrooms is higher than ever. You might think that things are beginning to slow down as the R rate falls and normality begins to creep in again, but the virus isn’t suddenly about to disappear. We’ve been so proud to support the UK effort with our mobile labs and portable cleanrooms and it seems that the need for us to do so is just as essential now as it was last March.”
Whether directly related in the form of testing labs, ventilator manufacturing or patient care, or indirectly via new manufacturing businesses producing face masks and PPE to serve the local market, the need for vital controlled environments therefore appears to be as high as ever.
The challenges remain as prevalent now as they were at the height of the pandemic – and the nation’s general outlook, diligence and application of good practice has shifted, particularly when it comes to newly developed ways of working.
Guardtech
Wheeler continues to experience this every day first-hand with his business, as he done over the past 12 months.
“Demand for tightly controlled environments has never been greater,” he said. “In terms of the global pandemic, sensitive product segregation and upgraded manufacturing practice are hot topics right now.”
Another hot topic is the necessity for speed of implementation – and this demand for haste is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Wheeler and his firm.
“Many businesses do not have the time to wait for the execution of detailed design and construction projects within the walls of their own facilities or on newly acquired land,” he added. “Risk management of an increased site presence is also a factor – in a time when employees are being encouraged to stay away from site, to work from home and to socially distance, the amplified risk imposed by an army of contractors onsite can be a daunting prospect.
“Space also can present a serious issue, finding an appropriate area to house a cleanroom, without interrupting production for any length of time, is no simple task within most facilities, where significant internal ‘free’ space is hard to find or make.”
Guardtech have been designing and building cleanrooms and critically controlled environments for more than 20 years, and they’d been assembling a supplementary product range under the CleanCube brand for some time before the pandemic gripped the world.
Wheeler explained how they provide an “attractive and realistic alternative” in overcoming the “headaches of onsite construction projects”.
He said: “We’ve utilised tried and tested mobile construction and transportation modules of modular buildings and shipping containers and upgraded them internally with design choices and material selection informed by decades of experience in controlled environment and cleanroom design and installation.
“Standard modules present a significant time-saving bonus, as the host building and its restrictions and limitations do not need to be factored into the design process. Common materials are in stock and, of course, repeatability breeds efficiency of installation, shortening lead time and reducing project cost.”
Units can be customised to suit the clients’ exact purpose and, although there are some inherent limitations to some of the mobile cleanrooms – particularly the shipping container modules – Wheeler insisted that modular buildings and their connectivity options “provide the flexibility to provide an innovative construction solution for most applications”.
The CleanCube modular buildings are strong, flexible systems available in up to three storeys, with a standard module width of ten feet and module lengths of 24ft, 32ft and 40ft. Units can be stacked end on end and side by side to create clear open plan areas.
The all-steel construction features a flat-sided exterior finish, they’re easy to dismantle, move and re-use and can be stacked side by side and end on end – joining as many modules as the use needs.
CleanCube shipping containers are available in a number of standard sizes, from 20ft to 40ft and are fully modified internally to create classified cleanrooms from ISO5 to ISO8, controlled environments or labs, fully certified to ship via standard road and sea cargo networks, reducing cost and transportation times.
Wheeler explained that Guardtech’s range of portable cleanrooms can be fitted out to exactly the same specification as standard modular cleanrooms, including the likes of GRP or rapid roll doors, Environmental Monitoring Systems, temperature & humidity control, filtration, compressed air, potable or purified water, drainage, central vacuum, gas services and extraction.
And he also revealed that Guardtech provide a range of stainless steel or Trespa furniture for their various CleanCube models, including workbenches, stepover benches, lockers and cabinets – plus equipment such as biosafety cabinets, laminar flow units, nitrogen generators, transfer hatches, air showers and cranes.
Whatever happens from here onwards in terms of how quickly life can return to ‘normal’ after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is finally behind us, Wheeler believes the shape of business has changed irrevocably – particularly for his sector.
“Regardless of how long COVID-19 continues to dominate headlines and inflicts restrictions, the landscape for manufacturing is changing,” he added. “In this new landscape, control will be key.
“Control of supply chain – potentially with a reduced reliance on import and an increased respect for domestically produced goods – control of movement and control of process and product. Controlled environments will become more common place than they currently are, and, in some cases, a portable or mobile solution will be the key to unlocking the issue of time, space and cost.”
