ServiceA-02.03
Modular Operation Theatres
Modular OT suites with laminar airflow, pressure cascade and the supporting HVAC for ICU, CSSD, isolation and recovery areas.
Engineering approach
How we work on this
The order matters more than any individual decision in it. Most of the failures we are called in to correct are sequencing failures rather than equipment failures.
- 01
The table, then the room
A laminar airflow terminal is sized and positioned around the operating table and the surgical team, so that the protected zone covers the working field. The room is then built around that, rather than the terminal being fitted into a room already drawn.
- 02
Pressure relationships across the block
An OT is positive to its clean corridor, which is positive to the general corridor; an isolation room may be negative to everything around it. Those relationships are set across the whole block at design stage, because they only work as a continuous chain.
- 03
Infection control as a mechanical requirement
Air-change rate, filtration grade, temperature and relative humidity bands and fresh-air proportion are all part of infection control and all decided by the mechanical design. They are specified in numbers, then measured.
Scope of workA-02.03
Everything carried under this discipline
Not a summary. If it is on this list we carry it ourselves rather than subcontracting it.
- 03.01Modular operation theatres
- 03.02OT HVAC
- 03.03ICU HVAC
- 03.04Isolation rooms
- 03.05CSSD
- 03.06Recovery rooms
- 03.07Medical-area ventilation
Deliverables
What you are holding at the end
The documents that make the next stage of your project possible, and that an auditor will ask to see.
- OT block layout with pressure relationships
- Laminar airflow terminal arrangement and coverage
- HVAC design for OT, ICU, CSSD and isolation areas
- Modular panel, door and flooring specification
- Air-change, differential pressure and RH test record
Relevant standards
What the work is designed and tested to
- NABH
- Indian hospital accreditation standards
- ISO 14644-1
- Cleanroom classification by airborne particle count
Typical applications
Where this work goes
- Hospital operating theatre blocks
- Intensive and critical care units
- Central sterile services departments
- Isolation and negative-pressure rooms
Sectors
Proof
Work of this kind
Most of our work is carried out under confidentiality agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers and hospitals, so it is not published here. Reference contacts for comparable facilities are provided on request during a tender.
Questions
What people ask us first
- What does NABH require of the OT air system?
- NABH sets expectations around air changes, filtration, temperature and humidity, and pressure relationships to adjoining areas. The accreditation is held by the hospital; our part is to build and document a system that supports the assessment.
- Can an existing theatre be upgraded rather than rebuilt?
- Often, yes. The usual constraints are ceiling height for the laminar terminal and plenum, and whether the existing AHU can carry the required air volume and filtration resistance. An audit answers both.
- How long does an OT take?
- It depends on the number of theatres, whether the shell is ready and whether the hospital is live. We give a stage-by-stage programme with the scope rather than a single figure, because the constraint is usually access rather than build time.