Scolmore gets green light for University of Cambridge new Research Institute

A major project to create the University of Cambridge’s new Heart and Lung Research Institute has recently been completed.  A joint initiative between the University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the new development on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, is the largest centre for heart and lung research, education, academic-industrial collaboration, and clinical care in Europe.

Work began on the site in October 2019, with the scheme progressing safely throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic and with the building work fully complete, the development is due for occupation this Spring 2022.  The new Research Institute contains 8,000 sq. m of research space, spread across three floors. The building, which is linked to the RPH via a basement tunnel, provides a 10-bed clinical research facility, along with state-of-the-art laboratory space for 22 principal investigators and 250 researchers.

Munro Building Services, provider of mechanical and electrical installation and maintenance services in the public and private sectors, worked with the main contractors, SDC, on the project.  Munro’s senior electrical project manager, Graham Sargeant, was responsible for delivering the electrical programme. 

Graham was keen to use a single supplier for all the wiring accessories requirements, and, wishing to provide a quality, cost-saving solution against other manufacturers, he approached Scolmore to tender.  Given some of the specific requirements for this medical environment, Scolmore originally didn’t have the full complement of products available when discussions were first undertaken.  However, working closely with Graham, the technical and product development teams at Scolmore were quickly able to come up with the full range of products required for this high profile and specialist project.

As the exclusive supplier of wiring accessories products for the project, Scolmore has seen in excess of 1,300 products from its Click Mode antibacterial and antiviral certified range installed throughout the 8,000 sq. m research facility.  Products include:

• Click Mode Blue Medical Socket Outlets - Blue ‘Medical Equipment Only’ Sockets are designed to distinguish them from non-IPS electrical sockets. This helps ensure medical equipment is plugged into IPS sockets and non-medical equipment is plugged into non-IPS sockets.  They are strength tested and approved to BS1363 offering assured quality and safety.  In total 84 double sockets and 10 single sockets were installed on the medical bed head trunking located in the CRF area on the ground floor.

• Click Mode Red and Green Outboard Rocker Switched Socket Outlets – these further enhance the offer of a colour differential for supply being switched.  Red rockers for essential services are generator backed, and the green rockers are UPS backed.

• A variety of 1 and 2 gang Click Mode white switched sockets

• Metal clad sockets have been used in ceiling voids and plant areas.

• The Aquip66 range of weatherproof switches was installed in the cold rooms

Scolmore continues to invest to ensure that its wiring accessory products offer enhanced hygiene properties.  All Click Mode plates have been independently tested and have shown to have anti-viral properties against enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. After a contact period of 4 hours, all tested plates were shown to have a 99.9% kill off rate against enveloped viruses and a 92% kill off rate against non-enveloped viruses.

This anti-viral testing is in addition to the anti-bacterial testing already carried out.  Mode and Mode Part M are all manufactured using Urea Formaldehyde, which has similar inherent properties to antimicrobial additives that inhibit the growth of infectious diseases. When independently tested, all products achieved a 99.99% kill off rate across all four types of the strains of bacteria – MRSA, E-Coli, Salmonella and Klebsiella Pneumonia.

Comments Graham Sargeant: “I have worked with Scolmore and the company’s range of products for over five years and on previous projects they have quickly developed products if they did not have them in their current ranges. So, when it came to requiring specialist products for this project, I knew that Scolmore could deliver and that they were competitive against other manufactures. It all began with a phone call with Scolmore’s group key account and specification manager during the pandemic when most people were working from home or furloughed, and it quickly progressed to soon having sample blue sockets personally delivered to site. The project has gone on to be award winning and the facility will hopefully provide life saving research for years to come.”