Flooring Choices Fit The Bill continued
What type of cleaning is required with the flooring products that were chosen?
The products have a very different cleaning protocol than vinyl flooring. They both require some chemicals but fewer than vinyl and neither needs any type of sealant. We found in our pilot projects that the maintenance cost was about 80% less than vinyl. That was a big driver.
To address changes from the previous flooring products, prior to the installation we host an education session with various staff members from the affected departments. After the installation, we sponsor more education with the staff. The environmental services staff is trained to clean the floor differently. Also, part of the manufacturers’ agreements is that they help in the training of the staff.
When this new resilient flooring reaches its end of life, what are the plans for disposal?
We are working with the manufacturers to take back the material and recycle it when the flooring reaches the end of its useful life. That’s a big piece of all of our national contracts—that manufacturers have to be responsible to keep material out of landfills.
What factors determine which of the two flooring products will be used in a project?
Since the Stratica only comes in tile, it can’t be used in procedure rooms, surgery suites, and any area where there’s an infection control issue due to seams that can’t be sealed properly. In those areas, we would use nora, because they also have a sheet rubber product and the seams can be bonded.
The Stratica gets used virtually anywhere where we’re not going to have to seal the seams.
What was the reaction of upper management to the decision to embrace principles of sustainable design in this project?
Kaiser Permanente has an Environmental Stewardship Council that is made up of senior leaders within the company. They report to our CEO George Halvorson. Decisions like these come from that council and are supported at the highest levels of the organization, because of the direct link these issues have to health care outcomes and workplace safety.
We do have to develop a business case that proves what we’re trying to do is beneficial and what the costs are, but the company is willing to take bold stands because of the vision.
What were some of the non-economic challenges and highlights of this project?
One of the challenges was changing our maintenance practices. That was one of the reasons why we wanted to study it in pilot projects, because it’s a very different way of cleaning in terms of the chemicals and processes that are used. That continues to be a challenge, but we’re very confident that over time, as we install more and more of the new flooring products, that practice will change. It’s a recognized issue.
Have you applied for LEED certification from the USGBC?
No, Kaiser Permanente has never applied for LEED. However, we were very involved in the development of the Green Guide for Health Care and are in the process of adapting it as a guideline for our projects. The primary reason is that LEED doesn’t focus on some issues that are critical in health care. The Green Guide for Health Care is based on a LEED-type formula, but it doesn’t require the third party certification. [For more information on this guide, visit www.gghc.org.]
Did this project cost more, the same, or less than a standard project?
It definitely has a higher installed cost. There’s no question about it. But that’s only one piece of the equation. At Kaiser Permanente, we consider the overall health and safety benefits and the long-term return on investment.
What is the anticipated return on investment?
We have a simple ROI based on the savings on the maintenance end. However, we’re also trying to develop a more robust analysis that includes some of the other side benefits in terms of the reduction of slips, trips, falls, and disruption. But the straight payback is about five years or so.
What has been the reaction to the project inside your organization?
In the facilities where we’ve installed the new flooring products, and we’ve gotten our environmental services staff to maintain it properly, they love it.
Another aspect of the two products that we ultimately chose is their superior acoustics. In the areas where we’ve installed it, there’s high staff satisfaction, because it’s noticeably quieter. There is also much greater comfort underfoot, because of the resilience of the floor.
What did you learn from this project?
Though we knew this already, we noted that you shouldn’t just take a manufacturer’s word on how its product performs. It was a great value to us to be able to do a lot of testing ourselves.
Why should other facility professionals consider green solutions when the opportunity is present?
They should consider it for all the reasons that Kaiser Permanente does it. It’s the right choice in terms of health care in general, whether you’re managing an office building, or a school, or any other type of building.
What was the most professionally rewarding aspect of this project?
It was the fact that Kaiser Permanente stood behind this decision, because it’s a dramatic change. Considering how many millions of dollars we spend on resilient flooring, for the organization to say it was willing to spend more money in first costs—because it’s the right thing to do for our members, visitors, and staff—is proof that we practice what we preach.
Questions about this project can be sent to Tom Cooper at thomas.cooper@kp.org.
To share your Green Solutions, send an e-mail to avazquez@groupc.com.
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