Project Type: Labs & Medical Research Facilities

Project Detail: Pharmaceuticals- Vibration

GlaxoSmithKline
King of Prussia, PA

GSK was installing a mass spectrometer in an existing facility and needed to identify locations where the equipment would not be affected by existing conditions and potentially interfere with proper operation of the machine. The installation location was challenging for a number of reasons. First, it was not on the ground level of the building which is not the ideal circumstance for the location of a highly sensitive piece of laboratory equipment. Second, it was on two slab bays surrounded by corridors which were susceptible to pedestrian footfall throughout the day. Third, there was an elevator nearby which seemed to be in need of service and possibly introducing unnecessary vibration into the installation location.

We reviewed the facility including building structures such as slab/column/beam/girder types and configurations, the proposed mass spectrometer installation locations, and all of the potential sources of vibration—the HVAC plant, the mechanical systems, the elevator shaft, and the corridors. We measured the ambient vibration in the floor slabs and columns as well as the vibration introduced into the floor slab with heel and weight drop impacts, footfall at various rates, with and without the air handling units, and elevator operation under several loading conditions. We compiled the results into modal maps and presented all of our data to the client.