Sustainability, flexibility & safety mark the zeitgeist of the early 21st century in university planning and management. These very concepts are the foundation of the Purifier Axiom Class II Biosafety Cabinet – developed by Labconco and released in 2015.
At about the same time, an Energy Savings Committee was formed at Creighton University (Omaha, NE); it’s purpose: “to focus on facility improvements that could boost sustainability.”
The eight person committee decided to focus on projects that would have an ROI of 5 years or shorter. On the list, there was one glaring project to address – high energy requirements of the campus aging Class II Type B2s BSC’s.
During their investigation for solutions, they found the Purifier Axiom and noted its marked safety improvements and reduced airflow criteria.
In May 2015, three professional from Creighton, representing EH&S, Facility Management & the Energy Savings Committee visited the Labconco Kansas City office. On the half-day agenda was a tour of manufacturing operations and full demonstration of the Axiom’s operational capabilities.
Upon learning that they could not just eliminate the B2s but replace them with a new technology, with increased safety and half the operational cost there was a group realization. They found a winner.
Because (John) Baxter (director of Environmental Health & Safety at Creighton) believes sustainability is second only to safety when it comes to areas of importance within laboratory spaces, he said the 11 Type C1 cabinets fit well into Creighton’s facility. After all far exceed the five-year ROI benchmark for Energy Savings Committee projects – in fact, calculations show a project with a 2.6 year ROI & an annual energy savings of $52,645.
Creighton had also found the Axiom’s intuitive-to-use work surface, low sound emissions and operational flexibility to be highly effective in meeting university needs.
Wes Walling, one of the visitors and director of mechanical, electrical & plumbing operations summarized the selection of the Axiom for their project, “Maybe it was just the right time for technology to finally get in sync with what the laboratory and the world – requires for better sustainability.”
Originally Published in Labconco Distributor Dialog Newsletter (Spring 2016)