Charles River A36 Clean Room
Cyma Builders and Construction Managers completed a 3,800 SF cleanroom fit-out in Malvern, PA, on behalf of Charles River Labs. The project was started on November 2, 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic and completed on March 22,2021.
The fit-out of the suite included three ISO 6 main production suites with multiple ISO 7 and ISO 8 entry and exit airlocks. The construction had multiple complexities from a technical and logistical perspective as it involved working seven days a week renovating an existing space adjacent to operational ISO 6 cleanrooms. Temporary washable partitions were installed to prevent construction dust and debris from contaminating continuing operations and construction material and personnel were completely segregated from operational flow. Installing ductwork and piping within the tight space above the new plenum and 104 Fan Filter Units required multi-trade coordination and pre-planning.
This project was initiated the first week of November 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in Pennsylvania. Early in the process, Cyma identified how the pandemic would impact the project from a cost and schedule perspective and advised the Client on how it could impact their end-date of March 22, 2021. The Client utilized this feedback and made revisions to certain long lead equipment to minimize the impact of the longer lead times due to COVID and the Cyma team worked with their subcontractors to accommodate the revisions. As a result, many of the cost and schedule risks associated with the long lead items and COVID pandemic were successfully mitigated. Cyma was also able to effectively manage their subcontractors on-site and ensured that all PPE and social distancing requirements were always maintained. The project did not result in any documented cases of community spread during the team’s four-month presence on-site.
