CleanCube Lorry Conversion

THE CLIENT

Cignpost Diagnostics – providers of COVID-19 screening and other healthcare services. They combine operational agility with leading gold standard test technologies. Cignpost Diagnostics provide healthcare services to a range of industries including media and sport.

THE BRIEF

Repurpose a mobile gym housed in an articulated lorry with fold-out sides, originally designed for golf’s European Tour, into a mobile COVID-19 diagnostic unit to enable PCR testing for players and staff to enable competition to continue during the pandemic.

THE TECH SPECS

A controlled environment designed, installed, cleaned and commissioned by Guardtech built to the following specification:

Structural: GT Shell Plus PIR Wall Panels, GT Shell Lite Wall Cladding, GT Deck Plus Vinyl Floor, PVC strip
curtain.

Mechanical: GT Flow Plus Fan Filter Units.

Monitoring: GT Scan Lite magnehelic gauges.

Furniture: Stainless steel workbenches, transfer hatch.

THE CHALLENGES

Flooring: The existing flooring was a vulcanised rubber that was bonded to the deck of the truck. This was not appropriate for a lab and had to be removed in order to lay a cleanroom grade floor.

Concertina truck layout: The vehicle had two moveable sections that folded back into the truck while it was in transit. This presented numerous challenges in terms of the lab layout. The ventilation system, the access routes in situ, the flooring and the potential gaps that were created, were problematic for lab hygiene and continued maintenance of the space.

Ventilation: The unit had ventilation in the form of ceiling-mounted air conditioning units – in order to meet the air change rate we needed to accommodate a number of fan filtration units which dragged unclassified air in through the filter and delivered an ISO8 environment. We had to modify the truck to bring in additional fresh air to compensate for the 20 air changes per hour that were required to meet the validation grade.

Electrical: The truck ran off a battery and generator, so we needed to design an electrical system that could facilitate the additional laboratory equipment that was to be installed in the space, while remaining compliant with a new code of electrical systems as defined by the NICEIC.

Processing space: We needed to create a separate changing area and processing space to allow the samples gathered to be passed into the lab without the technician needing to physically enter the space and bring potential contamination with them.

THE RESULT

Guardtech Commercial Director Mark Wheeler said: “This was a really challenging build that pushed our talented Design team to think outside the box. Fortunately, that always brings out the best in them – and we quickly got to work overcoming a number of tricky issues that might have derailed this critical project. As ever with a build related to the COVID-19 crisis, this job had to be carried out rapidly and efficiently – and it was amazing to see our guys work through a number of potential stumbling blocks to deliver a brilliant solution.” 

The client added: “We started working with Guardtech soon after the pandemic hit in the UK. Cignpost Diagnostics was focused on providing screening services to allow people to get back to work safely and securely.  

“To enable this, we needed mobile laboratories manufactured to BSL2 safety standards. We engaged with Guardtech and they made what could have been a complicated process very easy. We can recommend Guardtech unequivocally.”