Billions of dollars are being invested into healthcare facility renovations every year, with data showing that renovation spending will increase between $8 billion and $9 billion by 2020.
Renovation projects are on the rise in the healthcare space to improve patient experience and treatment across the board. With healthcare administrators approving and pushing renovation projects down the pipeline, companies are in need of a construction dust barrier that is also a cost-effective temporary ICRA containment wall solution that can be used for not just a few, but hundreds of projects over time.
Drywall vs. a Reusable Construction Dust Barrier
The most common containment solution is drywall, which is disposed of after each phase of the project with the majority of projects having multiple phases over time. This becomes highly expensive in the long haul, increasing labor costs and time between renovation phases. Additionally, it is extremely disruptive to the healthcare environment to construct and dismantle.
When asked about temporary containment in the healthcare space, this is what Jerry Baker, W.E. Bowman’s Executive Director of Construction, had to say:
“With every new healthcare project, we would do the same thing, create temporary drywalls we would end up throwing in the dumpster. This provided no value to our company or our clients. We’ve spent a lot of money on those types of walls and they create their own problems. First, they take more time and money to construct. Second, we had to build a temporary plastic wall and create a negative air environment before could even start building a metal stud wall.”
Jerry went on to say that W.E. Bowman needed a solution that was less expensive, could be used for multiple jobs, but most importantly, could provide an ongoing return on their investment.
W.E. Bowman is not the only construction company looking for an alternative to drywall. Multiple companies are in need of a product with proven endurance, provides a competitive edge, is durable, reusable and will last for years.
The STARC Systems reusable containment solution demonstrates an ROI after 3 to 5 uses compared to drywall and plastic construction. The barrier system is reusable, with no waste disposal, and the panel component requires no daily maintenance. The simplicity of the system allows for two people to install 100 feet of wall in one hour (watch this video to see 100 feet assembled in one hour!).
Temporary Containment Walls: Cost-Savings and ROI
In the case of W.E. Bowman, the company realized a return on investment after 5 phases of a 7 phase project that required 5200 feet of temporary containment. The company saw overall savings of 75% for the project versus drywall. (Read the Full Case Study)
Chip Bowman, Executive Director of Development & Finance for W.E. Bowman Construction, had this to say in regards to the cost-effectiveness of STARC Systems.
“We weighed the cost-effectiveness; the investment vs. an expense. But we have found STARC Systems provides a rapid payback schedule. Our investment is paid back within five uses. That’s consistent with the value proposition STARC provide us.”
STARC Systems is a complete containment system that exceeds ICRA Class IV requirements and solves the temporary containment problem that is costing renovation companies money. It reduces labor costs, is environmentally friendly, reusable, easy to install and store, and it has proven to increase ROI. It can be installed, moved and reconfigured over and over again.
“We considered our return on investment with STARC and it’s paid off,” Jerry said. “We know our STARC panels will last us for a number of years and we can use STARC on hundreds of projects.”
Written by Gearhart and Associates, LLC. for STARC Systems, Inc. Gearhart and Associates are industry experts in Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) training, Infection Control and Prevention Strategies, and Facilities Risk Management.