Always on the front line in difficult times: even in this health emergency, Manni Group has chosen to make its know-how available to give a tangible response to the hospital crisis. A solution designed to deal with the COVID-19 emergency, but which may be applied in many healthcare areas even in the long term.
The Group has taken this stance in line with its ongoing commitment to a sustainable construction industry of the future, which goes hand in hand with the safety and support measures for its employees implemented in recent weeks.
Manni Green Tech is the company of the Group specialised in light dry construction with steel systems that, together with a team of companies and professionals, has presented the integrated project for a modular intensive care unit. It is the result of an actual industrialised design and prefabrication process for hospital facilities, making it possible to overcome the typical limitations of field hospitals or the conversion of construction site containers for temporary installations.
The solution stands out for its fast delivery and ease of installation: the entire process from manufacturing to full operation, in fact, only takes 69 days and the module is delivered 90% pre-assembled, complete with all systems. Thanks to the steel load-bearing structure, it does not require foundations, but only connections to the local electricity mains, water and sewer network.
A team of specialists in the hospital and off-site construction industry has therefore developed, starting from the design stage led by Manni Green Tech, a layout capable of combining safety for patients and healthcare professionals with ergonomics and functionality of the spaces: the entire design, in fact, is based on the correct sizing of the operational area required for each intensive care bed, with 3 degrees of confinement possible for each patient.
The basic module and its combinations can adapt to multiple functional and healthcare-related requirements, in addition to space constraints on site. The design/construction/installation team is also able to promptly offer configurations of operational units customised according to specific customer requirements: semi-intensive or traditional hospitalisation, outpatient clinic areas, first aid premises, diagnostic areas, day surgery wards. This means the implementation of the multi-functional module is not only tied to the COVID-19 emergency and it can be converted at a later stage as required.
The project’s figures
The intensive care unit can accommodate from 8 to 20 inpatients. The optimised version for 18 beds includes:
the space allocation and functional plan is designed based on a single, easily transportable structural module, which can accommodate from 8 to 20 beds.
the basic module and its combinations can adapt to multiple functional and healthcare-related requirements; the modules are delivered 90% pre-assembled, complete with primary and secondary system distribution.
the materials used ensure long-term durability and efficiency, also exceeding the response times linked to the current emergency; an actual process of industrialised prefabrication for hospital facilities.
the functional unit comes with all components, with standard outfitting for each bed, to be implemented with equipment such as bed head units and pendant systems with resuscitation devices.
the functional unit is designed with the aim of complying with the national regulations and guidelines and with the specific requirements for Healthcare Unit Accreditation, fire safety, and health and hygiene regulations.
The system has been designed with an anti-seismic self-supporting steel structure that does not require foundations and is perfectly suited to dry cladding systems: insulating sandwich panels on the outside, walls with slab finish on the inside.
The materials that make up dry systems offer multiple advantages in terms of sustainability: they are lightweight and thus easy to transport, minimise worksite waste, and are reusable and recyclable. Steel, in fact, is 100% recyclable and ensures an accurate estimation of the amount of material required for the construction, the times and costs of the construction site.
The insulating metal panels are also lightweight, versatile and easy to assemble; they also guarantee excellent performance in terms of thermal insulation, sound absorption, air tightness and reaction to fire.
The specific product used in the hospital module is Isofire Wall PVSteel for roofing, internal and external walls: it is an insulating sandwich panel with a rock wool core, which guarantees high fire resistance. In addition, the use of steel for the external sheets meets the high hygiene requirements of healthcare facilities.
