When a 6,000m2 Plymouth Lighthouse Laboratory was commissioned for construction to meet the demands of COVID-19 testing, the Government required a quick turnaround to ensure the testing lab was operational as swiftly as possible. Thanks to efficient supply chain management, the site opened ahead of schedule with Marshall-Tufflex PowerPoles and Odyssey Bio trunking completing the fit-out. 

The Lighthouse Laboratory in Plymouth is a purpose-built facility operated by University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust in partnership with NHS Test and Trace. The site in Plymouth is just one lab in a network of national testing facilities in the UK commissioned by the Department of Health which process more than 750,000 PCR test per day nationwide. 

With an urgent requirement for these important sites, the Department of Health appointed Kier and Totus Engineering to complete the Plymouth build, due to their previous successful performance on the construction of national Nightingale Hospitals. When commissioned, the laboratory needed to be operational within eleven weeks of the start of works. Accordingly, it was essential that the entire supply chain was able to fulfil the projects product requirement within the tight schedule. 

Bob Corne, Contract Manager at Totus Engineering specified Marshall-Tufflex products following the company’s proven expertise in swiftly supplying cable management solutions for the NHS Nightingale Hospitals. For the project, Bob specified 46 double-sided PowerPoles and 510 metres of Marshall-Tufflex’s Odyssey Bio PVC-U trunking.

Bob said, “I knew from Marshall-Tufflex’s outstanding work on the NHS Nightingale Hospitals that the team would be able to meet the deadlines required for this project, as well as provide a robust, anti-microbial solution to help inhibit the spread of bacteria.”. 

For the project, Marshall-Tufflex supplied the products within ten days of the order being placed to allow Totus Engineering to begin installation as quickly as possible. The anti-microbial properties of the Odyssey Bio trunking were a key requirement for a project of this nature. The trunking uses a silver ion solution that prohibits 99.9% of bacteria from reproducing and surviving on its surface. On Marshall-Tufflex, Bob said, “The team at Marshall-Tufflex provided excellent support for their part in the project, ensuring all products were delivered to site to meet the schedule.’

For more information on Marshall-Tufflex, or to find out more about its anti-bacterial ‘Bio’ trunking solutions, please visit www.marshall-tufflex.com.