Infection control in construction and design

Objective: To clarify how infection control requirements are represented, communicated and understood in work interactions through the medical facility construction project lifecycle. To assist project participants with effective infection control management by highlighting the nature of such requirements and presenting recommendations to aid practice.
Background: A 4 year study regarding client requirement representation and use on NHS (National Health Service) construction projects in the UK provided empirical evidence of infection control requirement communication and understanding through design and construction work interactions.
Methods: An analysis of construction project resources (e.g. infection control regulations; room data sheets) was combined with semi-structured interviews with hospital client employees and design and construction professionals to provide valuable insights into the management of infection control issues.
Results: Infection control requirements are representationally indistinct but also omnipresent through all phases of the construction project lifecycle: failure to recognize their nature, relevance and significance can result in delays, stoppages and re-design work. Construction project resources (e.g. regulatory guidance; room data sheets) can mask or obscure the meaning of infection control issues.
Conclusions: A pre-emptive identification of issues combined with knowledge sharing activities amongst project stakeholders can enable infection control requirements to be properly understood and addressed. Such initiatives should also reference existing infection control regulatory guidance and advice.