Recently whilst working for a COVID-19 treatment provider, ZES were asked to review a new Cleanroom Suite design.

At the time of ZES’s initial involvement and design review, the Cleanroom Suite had been built and was undergoing qualification. One fundamental design requirement was that any viral material was to be contained within the three Grade B and C Cleanroom Suites.

There were a number of specific user requirements, including the following which is not quoted directly for reasons of confidentiality:

‘Each Cleanroom Suite shall be serviced by a single dedicated HVAC unit.’

The ZES review contained a number of observations including:

• The design included three Cleanroom Suites but only two HVAC units
• The HVAC system's exhaust was into the roof void area and not to the outside atmosphere
• By design, suitable filters on the common Cleanroom extract points had been omitted. [In other words, Cleanroom A extract contamination could contaminate Cleanroom B extract]

The Client had not engaged technical experts to act on their behalf, to verify that what had been initially specified was subsequently incorporated into the detailed design by the supplier and was actually being installed.