Guidelines for Laboratory Design: Health and Safety Considerations 2018

Guidelines for Laboratory Design: Health and Safety Considerations is organized by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE) and will be held during Jun 11 - 15, 2018 at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Course Description :
Participants in this program will explore and address health and safety considerations for diverse laboratory types and gain the skills they need to create a safe laboratory environment. This program covers general laboratory design challenges, as well as issues specific to chemistry, microelectronics clean room, engineering, animal, biosafety, clinical, and sustainable laboratories. Participants also address issues with new laboratory construction, renovation, and decommissioning.

This course provides a unique opportunity for architects, engineers, laboratory users, lab managers, and EHS professionals to collaborate on laboratory design.

Objectives & Highlights are :
Architects will be able to:
• Evaluate laboratory design options related to health and safety considerations in a cost-effective way
• Apply appropriate design information for laboratory types used in industry, academia, and hospitals
• Demonstrate familiarity with mechanical systems vital to state-of-the-art laboratory functions
• Understand the primary principles of safety, health, and environmental responsibilities and impact of these considerations on planning and sustainable design of laboratory facilities
• Learn details of laboratory systems and planning strategies to reduce risks to occupants of laboratory facilities
• Learn to plan laboratories to provide the best location of chemical fume hoods to perform safely
• Decommission, decontaminate, renovate, and reconstruct old laboratories and laboratories.

Design and facility engineers will be able to:
• Apply laboratory design information regarding heat loads from research equipment, ventilation requirements, optimum air flows, and contamination control through air pressure regulation
• Identify recent developments in the design of HVAC systems for laboratories, including variable air volume (VAV) systems, high-performance hoods, air exchange rates, ductless hoods, recirculation of air, and the application of energy conservation measures
• Learn to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to improve the performance of chemical fume hoods
• Incorporate into practice important information about the design of hazardous waste-handling facilities, safety shower and eyewash stations, and research support facilities.

Occupational health and safety professionals will be able to:
• Complete structures that are safe and free of health hazards by consulting with architects, contractors, owners, and users during design and construction
• Identify design features that provide solutions for the unique health and safety hazards associated with laboratories used for different functions
• Become familiar with CFD and how it is used in laboratory design
• Provide detailed specifications regarding laboratory support facilities for hazardous waste storage, packaging, and shipping
• Identify the unique needs of specific types of laboratories such as biosafety, chemistry, microelectronics, animal facilities, and engineering
• Understand the perspectives and constraints of architects and engineers, and the need to communicate with them from the earliest stages of the project through completion.

Learn practical and cost-effective solutions to renovation and reconstruction issues including:
• Green design and construction
• Decontamination of an existing facility
• Special health and safety precautions in partially occupied buildings undergoing renovation
• Adding energy conservation features
• Case studies of successful reconstructions and details of decisions not to reconstruct will also be presented
• Laboratory ventilation including fume hoods and other exhaust requirements
• Safety design features including fire protection, electrical systems, emergency equipment and controls, and chemical storage.

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.