Confidential – CAR-T Cell Therapy Lab
Cyma Builders and Construction Managers was retained by a confidential client to construct a new pilot plant at their existing PA facility. This pilot plant was designed to support a new cell therapy suite that was being designed and constructed at another facility. Due to the role of this new suite, it was imperative that it be completed and put into operation before the other facility was constructed.
The overall project consisted of the demolition of an existing suite that was renovated to accommodate the new program. The new suite included some new mechanical infrastructure while also re-purposing and modifying two existing packaged AHU’s that were used for the previous suite. The overall finishes installed in the suite included epoxy paint throughout, as well as a troweled epoxy floor. Cyma was also responsible for installing a number of bio safety cabinets and clean room pass thru’s as part of the project.
The original project schedule showed the suite being completed in early June of 2018, and was contingent on receiving funding for the project in November of 2017. Unfortunately, funding was not released for the project until late January of 2018. Due to the criticality of the suite to future operations, the client insisted that the early June completion date be maintained as much as possible. Once released, Cyma Builders worked extensively with the design engineers and vendors to identify the long lead components on the critical path. Once identified, a methodical approach was taken to try to ensure that the long lead components were onsite when needed to achieve the project schedule. Using this strategy, Cyma was able to receive over 95% of the equipment on time, with the remaining 5% not arriving due to manufacturer related shortages.
Once the issue with the long lead equipment was resolved, Cyma began working on constructing the suite. The original construction schedule assumed 20 weeks of construction, but the work now had to be performed in 16 weeks due to constraints caused by the lead times of the materials and lack of funding. Cyma developed and implemented a construction plan to complete the work in the required time frame using a negotiated overtime allowance. The allowance was strictly managed to ensure that the money was being spent efficiently to allow the maximum amount of schedule to be recovered for each dollar spent.
During the project, Cyma was also able to use previous work experience in clean room environments to provide useful suggestions to the client. This included recommendations for clean room phones, various finish details, and materials of construction for the various signage that was installed as part of the project.
