The Colleges and Schools at Georgia Tech have long been national leaders in groundbreaking research. 

The building of high-tech research buildings is necessary to foster this leading edge research. With the innovative nature of research, it’s important to have appropriate safety measures in place to protect the researchers, and the building itself.

There have been several instances in the past, where the construction of a laboratory, shop, or some other research facility did not take all of the necessary safety precautions into account during the design phase.

This led to problems with safely performing the research in the space and became major concerns for both the researchers and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS).  This creates a difficult situation for the Schools with respect to additional costs to meet life and safety requirements that could have been absorbed or softened if the proper planning considerations were given to the project during the design stage.           

Over the last several years, the collaboration of many groups involved in designing new research facilities has increased significantly.  Specifically within the last three years, nearly every project at Georgia Tech that involves the design of a research space now has the participation and collective discussion of appropriate personnel from the School or College Facilities, Design and Construction, and EHS.

This has led to remarkable progression in ensuring that the specific research can be done safely, and makes the design and build process more effective and efficient in meeting the needs of the researcher. This comprehensive approach to research and laboratory design has many contributors - namely Jerry O’Brien (College of Sciences); Brad Satterfield and Dave Stoutamire (College of Engineering); and the Facilities Design and Construction team.

Many Schools at Georgia Tech have also gone above and beyond in being inclusive of EHS personnel in their recruiting of principal investigators, a preliminary step to the planning in lab/research design spoken about previously.  These Schools should be lauded for their proactive approach involving Facilities and EHS.

This inclusive approach can delve into the details of what the researcher needs to be successful and safe in their lab space, which is the ultimate goal of this collaboration.