Natural ventilation with heat recovery: a biomimetic concept

In temperate countries, heat recovery is often desirable through mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). Drawbacks of MVHR include use of electric power and complex ducting, while alternative passive heat recovery systems in the form of roof or chimney-based solutions are limited to low rise buildings. This paper describes a biomimetic concept for natural ventilation with heat recovery (NVHR). The NVHR system mimics the process of water/mineral extraction from urine in the Loop of Henle (part of human kidney). Simulations on a facade-integrated Chamber successfully imitated the geometry and behaviour of the Loop of Henle (LoH). Using a space measuring 12 m2 in area and assuming two heat densities of 18.75 W/m2 (single occupancy) or 30 W/m2 (double occupancy), the maximum indoor temperatures achievable are up to 19.3 °C and 22.3 °C respectively. These come with mean relative ventilation rates of 0.92 air changes per hour (ACH) or 10.7 L·s−1 and 0.92 ACH (11.55 L·s−1), respectively, for the month of January. With active heating and single occupant, the LoH Chamber consumes between 65.7% and 72.1% of the annual heating energy required by a similar naturally ventilated space without heat recovery. The LoH Chamber could operate as stand-alone indoor cabinet, benefitting refurbishment of buildings and evading constraints of complicated ducting, external aesthetic or building age

Resilience strategies of healthcare facilities: present and future

Recent statistics suggest an increased number of natural disasters around the world with climate change and global warming believed to be the main cause, thus resulting in more floods, gales, droughts and infectious diseases. Although the number of fatalities has reduced since the start of the twentieth century, the number of affected people requiring an immediate and efficient healthcare service, which was not always available, has remarkably increased. The frequent discontinuity of medical services during major disasters encouraged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to appeal not to let hospitals be victims of emergencies and it launched a global campaign, Hospitals Safe from Disasters. Literature reveals that the resilience of healthcare facilities depends on many internal and external factors. The problem does not only relate to developing countries and the events of recent years have demonstrated the fragility of the United Kingdom (UK) healthcare infrastructure. For example: the 2005 Carlisle floods affected all emergency authorities (i.e. fire, police and health establishments); the 2007 Summer Flooding resulted in hospitals being isolated and even evacuated; and the long periods of snow at the start of 2010 added another type of problem that needs more effective emergency planning. This paper aims to: explore UK healthcare resilience strategies, define gaps and provide suggestions based on international best practice. The results show that despite the emergency planning in the UK, many issues could be avoided if international experience was reviewed carefully

The design and simulation of natural personalised ventilation (NPV) system for multi-bed hospital wards

Adequate ventilation is necessary for thermal comfort and reducing risks from infectious bio-aerosols in hospital wards, but achieving this with mechanical ventilation has carbon and energy implications. Natural ventilation is often limited to window-based designs whose dilution/mixing effectiveness are subject to constraints of wind speed, cross ventilation, and in the case of hospital wards, proximity of patients to external walls. A buoyancy-driven natural ventilation system capable of achieving dilution/mixing was shown to be feasible in a preceding study of novel system called natural personalised ventilation (NPV). This system combined both architecture and airflow engineering principles of space design and buoyancy and was tested and validated (salt-bath experiment) for a single bed ward. This research extends the previous work and is proof-of-concept on the feasibility of NPV system for multi-bed wards. Two different four-bed ward types were investigated of using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations under wind-neutral conditions. Results predict that NPV system could deliver fresh air to multiple patients, including those located 10 m away from external wall, with absolute flow rates of between 32 L·s−1 and 54 L·s−1 for each patient/bed. Compared to same wards simulated using window design, ingress of airborne contaminants into patients’ breathing zone and summer overheating potential were minimised, while overall ward dilution was maximised. Findings suggest the NPV has potentials for enabling architects and building service engineers to decouple airflow delivery from the visualisation and illumination responsibilities placed upon windows

Challenges on procurement in the oil and gas industry: developing new strategies

With the background of volatile oil and gas prices, marginal oilfields, extreme locations and new global business trends, the oil and gas industry is forced to seek better solution to overcome these challenges, among others, to look at new procurement strategies. Although some changes have taken place in the development of innovative procurement strategies in other sectors, more needs to be done to the oil and gas industry. This is perhaps because the oil and gas industry needs to be considered as an individual and complex industry in its own right. The other probable reason why there appears to have been little development away from the traditional approaches is because there are relatively few major players, that is project initiators (clients/owners) and implementers (drilling contractors etc.) in the oil and gas sector. Clients/owners have also been found to have a wide variety of method for selecting contractors. The direct transfer of other industries` experiences on procurement may not be suitable, as they are different in nature and many other aspects of the business which could have given a different impact to the overall management of oil and gas field exploration and production. Procurement lessons learnt from other industries have also been tested but with mixed outcomes. This includes Partnering/Alliancing/Joint Ventures, Design and Build/Engineering, Procurement and Construction, and Performance-Based approaches. However, procurement issues and problems in the oil and gas industry is not so pronounced as in other sectors due to the small number of players and the need to maintain good image, reputation and goodwill amongst them. The overall aim of the research is to improve procurement strategies in the oil and gas industry. This paper will present a review of current literature on the subject within the industry

The design and simulation of natural personalised ventilation (NPV) system for multi-bed hospital wards

Adequate ventilation is necessary for thermal comfort and reducing risks from infectious bio-aerosols in hospital wards, but achieving this with mechanical ventilation has carbon and energy implications. Natural ventilation is often limited to window-based designs whose dilution/mixing effectiveness are subject to constraints of wind speed, cross ventilation, and in the case of hospital wards, proximity of patients to external walls. A buoyancy-driven natural ventilation system capable of achieving dilution/mixing was shown to be feasible in a preceding study of novel system called natural personalised ventilation (NPV). This system combined both architecture and airflow engineering principles of space design and buoyancy and was tested and validated (salt-bath experiment) for a single bed ward. This research extends the previous work and is proof-of-concept on the feasibility of NPV system for multi-bed wards. Two different four-bed ward types were investigated of using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations under wind-neutral conditions. Results predict that NPV system could deliver fresh air to multiple patients, including those located 10 m away from external wall, with absolute flow rates of between 32 L·s−1 and 54 L·s−1 for each patient/bed. Compared to same wards simulated using window design, ingress of airborne contaminants into patients’ breathing zone and summer overheating potential were minimised, while overall ward dilution was maximised. Findings suggest the NPV has potentials for enabling architects and building service engineers to decouple airflow delivery from the visualisation and illumination responsibilities placed upon windows

Innovative design and construction solutions for improved therapeutic healing environments

Healthcare facilities need to be designed as innovative healing environments that improve quality of care, aid the recovery process, promote therapeutic goals and improve operational efficiency. A £5 billion hospital development programme has been designated to develop new healthcare infrastructure and upgrade existing hospital facilities to meet increasing demands of healthcare across the UK. This main aim of this paper is to collate information on current developments and practice in relation to therapeutic environments. An extensive review of literature relating to current practice has been undertaken. Relationships between the physical environment and patient recovery have been investigated in order to assess the potential impact of healthcare built environments on the healing process. Critical factors which impact on the performance of a healthcare facility, such as building layout and stakeholder participation have been examined. The benefits from innovative design and construction solutions, along with the barriers to innovation, have been highlighted to identify the opportunities for improving the quality of healthcare provision

Resilience strategies of healthcare facilities: present and future

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore UK healthcare resilience strategies, define gaps and provide suggestions based on international best practice. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a pluralistic qualitative research approach to achieve its purpose including: research papers, governmental and non-governmental reports, code and guidance documents and databases. In addition, two case studies were visited in May 2009: the first was one of the major hospitals in the UK; and the second is a major health facility located at the south of Taiwan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the hospitals responsible and/or emergency officers to clarify the strategies setup to respond to emergencies. Findings – The results show that despite the “robust” emergency planning in the UK, many issues could have been avoided if international experience was reviewed carefully. This is due to the failure of not working closer with multi-disciplinary experts, who provide technical and tactical help and lessons learned from international best practices, in addition to limiting accessibility of experts to information. The study also suggests that climate change must be addressed comprehensively through fusing resilience and sustainability strategies into a more comprehensive strategy of adaptation. Originality/value – The paper provides a significant contribution in terms of reducing the fragmentation of healthcare resilience-related work done previously; constructive criticism of UK healthcare resilience strategies and evidence of better practice from local and international facilities which will help in enhancing the resilience of healthcare facilities in the UK and elsewhere in the world

Reforming the management of industrial projects in developing countries: the role of strategic planning

The decline in performance of many industrial projects in many developing countries is a result of projects becoming more complex and reduced time schedules, consequently, project management in developing countries is failing because of flawed assumptions and idealised theory. It rests on centextualism of procedures, knowledge and process which are best developed by taking a more strategic approach. The complex nature of industrial project management has led to conflicting procedures, knowledge and cultures. Using a qualitative approach this study explores the role of strategic planning in developing countries. The findings suggest that project managers and aid agencies in developing countries must actively promote strategic project management as a means of implementing strategic change. The findings provide a comprehensive assessment of factors critical to strategic planning success of projects in developing countries

A framework for pre-project planning

Construction organizations have to overcome many problems in order to achieve high quality performance. The complex nature of the industry can result in the lack of alignment of project objectives between participants. Effective pre-project planning can improve project performance. In order to improve pre-project planning tools need to be developed that enable activities during this phase to be measured, monitored and improved as well as improving the relationship between customer and supplier. These tools include project definition rating index (PDRI) and project alignment thermometer. Despite their success, these tools have limitations as they have been specifically designed for large industrial projects. The theory behind pre-project planning is discussed in this paper along with examples of pre-project planning tools that deal with cultural and process issues

Design and decision making to improve healthcare infrastructure

This report presents summary and key findings of research projects undertaken within the Health and Care Infrastructure Research and Innovation Centre (HaCIRIC)by Loughborough University. These projects develop new knowledge and theory on how the built environment adds value to the healthcare delivery process and mainly relate to: ‘Theme 3, Innovative Design and onstruction’ undertaken during HaCIRIC Phase 1; and provide an excellent foundation for the work to be undertaken within the Optimising Healthcare Infrastructure Value (OHIV)project during HaCIRIC Phase 2