At the Bioscience facility in Maryland, an equipment loft design was utilized. While longer duct runs and larger fan capacity were required, structural loading for the large clean containment area was reduced, and no building columns had to be dropped into the clean space. Once in the field, the execution phase utilizing modular technology is inherently much faster as modular facilities are built from the ceiling down. Again at Bioscience, immediately after the roughing in of process support services and major duct trunks, the walkable ceiling system was hung to provide a working platform to separate activities above the ceiling from those going on below. The use of parallel trades, for example the mechanical work above can be completed while the architectural installation below proceeds, meant that field construction time is markedly shortened.
Walkable ceilings reduce downtime during service and cleaning operations.
The primary benefit of the walkable ceiling is that there will never be a need to send a maintenance person into the containment to change a light bulb or calibrate a sensor. As a result there is no need to shut down, clean, and resterilize after routine maintenance. The loss of production following routine maintenance can be carefully designed out of aseptic and clean containment facilities. Walkable steel panel ceilings are far better suited than gypboard or tee grid and lay-in tile ceilings for cleanrooms and clean containment. Tiles can lift and break sterility, resulting in a total loss of product.