The purpose of this project was to renovate approximately 9500 square feet of pharmaceutical laboratory and office space for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI). The existing 40+ year old facility featured very limited ceiling plenum space, and HVAC systems were undersized and had ceased to function properly and deionized water distribution that did not meet current Good Laboratory Practices. The laboratories were crowded and inefficient, making it quite difficult for BIVI’s scientists to complete their experiments.
Currently under construction, the project will be implemented in three phases to assure that the facility remains in operation during renovation. The new laboratories include a formulation room where small scale granulation and dry mixing of pharmaceutical products can be developed before being transferred to production.
A slot exhaust hood connected to a new dust collector will provide safe exhaust of active pharmaceutical ingredients. In other areas, the new laboratory layout will be more open and modular, allowing BIVI scientists more flexibility in scheduling and executing development projects.
Our design includes new laboratory VAV systems connected to fume hood systems to minimize energy consumption. A new air handling unit has been designed to provide a cool environment for nearly a dozen reach and walk-in stability sample incubators. A new packaged steam to hot water heating system was provided to support the entire facility. Finally, a new stainless steel deionized water distribution system is provided as part of this project. This project is scheduled for completion in the 3rd Quarter of 2009.
Overcoming Challenges Midway through design, BIVI expanded the scope of the project, to address potential concerns with environmental temperature control of spaces supporting stability program incubators. HVAC serving the stability incubator room had been designed with little expansion in mind, so when the incubator load doubled, the cooling load could only be met with the use of temporary cooling units. sys-tek provided a cooling only air handling unit to meet the increased demands of the stability chambers, with sufficient capacity for future incubator additions. Routing of the ductwork was extremely challenging in this space because the existing concrete tee structure and a concrete stairway left little room above the ceiling.
In addition, BIVI also desired to add HVAC controls to six existing air handling units and the existing chiller. We provided control diagrams and sequences for each air handling unit, and also coordinated with the existing chiller manufacturer to assure that all relevant data is communicated to BIVI’s existing building management system.
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