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Lab design is a multi-faceted challenge; it plays a huge part in the research process, combining elements of offices and research spaces; one of the main objectives is to promote efficient scientific work and safe operations.
This page provides resources for Laboratory Design, from lessons learned, links to KAUST Standards, and some documents to guide the process for the safe startup of laboratory operations.
The Compressed Gas Safety Program specifies minimum requirements for the safe storage, use, and handling of compressed gases at KAUST to protect all personnel from potential physical and chemical hazards associated with using compressed gases at KAUST.
This program contains important information regarding the safe use of all types of compressed gases, liquefied gases, and cryogenic gases at KAUST. It covers operational as well as engineering control measures to ensure a safe working environment. The engineering requirements should also serve as a design basis for new construction and renovations.
KAUST Standards and Design Criteria
Design Standards and Criteria for construction and modification projects at KAUST are managed by Planning, Design, Engineering and Construction (PDEC). These set of standards came from the project design architects HOK Engineering Company and evolved with current KAUST requirements and lessons learned from construction.
KAUST Standards and Design Criteria
Research and Academic Design Criteria
This document identifies quantitative and qualitative building design criteria and establishes a basis against which KAUST's Engineering and Project Management will evaluate building system design for KAUST. This design criteria is intended to be used as code, general requirements, and performance measures. The project designers should evaluate and respond to these requirements by incorporating them into their designs, substituting equivalent alternatives, or noting why such measures could/will not be addressed.
Campus buildings should reflect the status of the university as a world-class institution in the fields of science and technology and aspire to the highest standards of international design.
Research needs are changing all the time, and laboratories must allow for a flexible design that accommodates easy and reasonable modifications. In today's laboratory, the ability to expand, reconfigure, and permit multiple uses has become a key concern. Today, research institutions are expected to make physical changes on average for 25% of their labs each year.
Laboratory design lessons learned provide a review on operating laboratories and some concerns about lab design and construction.
The purpose of the Lab Safety Readiness process is to ensure that new laboratories, laboratories reopening after expansion projects or after significat modifications, are ready for safe operations once the construction of the laboratory space is completed. The Lab Safety Readiness process will not start if there are still open actions from the POSHER review.
A laboratory visit by the Research Safety Team (RST) Lab Design Specialist and the assigned RST building point of contact (POC) is conducted to assist the laboratory with the process, and a second visit takes place to verify actions are closed. When all actions are closed, the form is signed by the Lab Safety Representative and the RST Lab Design Specialist.
After completion of the Laboratory Safety Readiness, the lab is considered officially in operations. Facility Management conducts laboratory visual Inspection and completes the Lab Occupancy and Operations Permit to grant access to the laboratory space and also provides the Service Level Agreement with details in maintenance and operation services.
The purpose of the Lab Safety Readiness process is to ensure that new laboratories, laboratories reopening after expansion projects or after significat modifications, are ready for safe operations once the construction of the laboratory space is completed. The Lab Safety Readiness process will not start if there are still open actions from the POSHER review.
A laboratory visit by the Research Safety Team (RST) Lab Design Specialist and the assigned RST building point of contact (POC) is conducted to assist the laboratory with the process, and a second visit takes place to verify actions are closed. When all actions are closed, the form is signed by the Lab Safety Representative and the RST Lab Design Specialist.
After completion of the Laboratory Safety Readiness, the lab is considered officially in operations. Facility Management conducts laboratory visual Inspection and completes the Lab Occupancy and Operations Permit to grant access to the laboratory space and also provides the Service Level Agreement with details in maintenance and operation services.
In the event of small modifications necessary for the laboratory (e.g., installation of electrical outlets, installation of new exhaust lines, installation of new facilities to support lab equipment that does not exceed $20,000 USD) a Lab Modification Request (LMR) needs to be initiated by the laboratory members with the approval of the Principal Investigator.
Facilities Management Project Request
In the event of a major lab modifications, the Principal Investigator needs to contact Academic Space and Equipment Planning (ASEP) . Academic Space and Equipment Planning supports the Senior Vice President, as Chair of the Academic Space and Equipment Planning Committee (ASEPC), in allocating space and equipment to the entire KAUST research community. This work entails managing academic space with optimal utilization in support of students, faculty, and researchers to ensure that space needs for the university are fully met; evaluating new equipment needs, equipment upgrades and replacement of obsolete equipment; maintaining an extensive database on equipment utilization and criticality to avoid duplication of equipment across labs and centers.
Proposal for Academic Space Form
For more information, please contact: asepc@kaust.edu.sa
The main goal of the Laboratory Ventilation Program is to ensure the safety and health of laboratory users while optimizing ventilation serving the laboratories and reach energy savings goals of KAUST.
For all new laboratories, or laboratories under renovation, please consult the Laser Lab Design Guideline and contact the Laser Safety Officer via email. Please also refer to the Laser Safety Manual to read about the recommended control measures for laser laboratories.
Pre-Operational Safety, Health & Environmental Review process (POSHER) is required to be conducted for new laboratories, major lab expansions or change in research (e.g. adding radiation room, increasing biosafety level, introducing new hazards to the lab, etc.)
Contact hse@kaust.edu.sa for more information.
The Toxic Gas Monitoring (TGM) System Guidelines provide support information for future installation and modification of TGM systems in KAUST laboratories. The guidelines standardize the design and programming of such systems and facilitate the maintenance and operations of TGM systems across the campus.
The TGM system is a sophisticated system that detects the presence of toxic and flammable gases and controls relevant actions such as the shutdown of gases from the gas delivery system, the shutdown of research tools, the activation of alarms and the activation of the emergency notification process.
The need for gas monitors, as well as the number and locations of the sensors, shall be determined by the KAUST Research Safety Team in coordination with the KAUST Academic Projects Team based on hazard properties of the gas, possible worst-case release rates, size, and ventilation rate of the affected areas, as well as other risk factors.
