Transparency And Specifying For Product Performance

In the healthcare world, there are new evidence-based designs that support reduced treatment times and increased levels of patient comfort. The Center for Health Design categorizes the use of high-performing, sound-absorptive, acoustic ceilings (NRC 0.90 or higher) as a priority design recommendation based on the strength of the evidence available and the impact on safety, quality, and cost.

Knowing how to specify for products and systems that meet these recommendations is important—and that requires independent verification. Product transparency, disclosure, and optimization documentation can help with specifying products for IEQ and resilience. Architects have a range of resources to consult for third-party testing that ensures product performance for meeting certifications. New codes and standards are now driving designers toward a higher level of IEQ characteristics, such as sound absorption and IAQ, which means resilient products are becoming the norm. These codes and standards are all highly relevant when meeting LEED, WELL, FGI, and other certifications.

When specifying for acoustic tile systems, there are a few ways to obtain verifiable product performance information. Key to transparency and product performance assurance are independent, third-party labels, evaluations, and program certifications such as UL GREENGUARD Gold and Declare and product reports such as Environmental Product Declarations and Health Product Declarations.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) report summarizes the life-cycle impact of a product from “cradle to grave” based on a product’s life-cycle assessment (LCA). An EPD report includes information about a product’s global warming potential, its potential toxicity, and manufacturer’s sustainability initiatives, among other things. EPDs do not rank products. Instead, an EPD is a transparency tool that helps specifiers make choices based on sustainable qualities and environmental impacts. Products with EPDs can contribute to LEED and WELL credits.

A Health Product Declaration (HPD) is similar to an EPD but is focused on the health impacts of the product. HPDs are shared by manufacturers to disclose a product’s ingredients and any health hazards associated with the ingredients. HPDs may be created by product manufacturers, by the manufacturer’s agent, or by a third party. As with EPDs, an HPD is a transparency document that allows a specifier or building owner to compare the health impacts of products using a standardized format. Products with HPDs can also contribute to both LEED and WELL credits. With LEED Third-party verified HPDs contribute an additional ½ credit versus self verified.

Photo courtesy of Rockfon

Specifying for ceiling systems for health design includes examining product reports through third-party reports, such as a Health Product Declaration (HPD).

Photo courtesy of Rockfon

It is important to understand the specification process for ceiling systems in healthcare settings and use the planning, design, and construction guidelines set by the Facility Guidelines Institute.

These are strict requirements that help ensure products are acceptable for use in environments like healthcare facilities. The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) serves as an authority on health and residential care facility planning, design, and construction in the U.S. and is often used to inform guidelines abroad. The guidelines are consensus- and researched-based and are used by stakeholders across the industry including regulators, designers, and facility owners, in order to protect public health, safety and well-being.

Another verification source is Declare. Manufacturers voluntarily disclose product information on easy-to-read Declare labels. These labels report all product ingredients and use a simple color code system to flag chemicals of concern. Further information is provided on the product’s final assembly locations, life expectancy, end-of-life options, and overall compliance with relevant requirements of the Living Building Challenge (LBC).

All active Declare labels are accessible on a free and searchable database. The database is used by leading designers, large real estate owners, and conscientious homeowners to specify products they know they can trust and that meet the requirements of leading green building standards, including the Core Green Building, LBC, LEED, and WELL certifications. Declare indicates 100% disclosure and presence of a red list ingredient not covered by an exemption. Declare LBC Red List Free indicates 100% disclosure and that the product does not contain any chemical on ILFI’s red list. Declare LBC Red List Approved indicates greater than 99% disclosure and the use of an exemption.

When products are selected for IEQ features, they can often lead to building credits and certifications. For instance, LEED v4.1 offers acoustic credits in three categories we discussed previously: maximum background noise produced by HVAC systems, minimum isolation from adjacent spaces, and an adequate amount and type of sound-absorbing finishes. Walls and ceilings are the critical building components in determining whether these credits have been achieved.

The WELL v2 standard has an entire concept dedicated to acoustics, called “Sound.” There are eight features within the category, providing options for project teams to explore noise control and intentional acoustic design. The features are sound mapping, maximum noise levels, sound barriers, reverberation time, sound-reducing surfaces, minimum background sound, impact noise management, and enhanced audio devices.

CONCLUSION

By their nature, healthcare centers and hospitals host vulnerable occupants who require a healing environment. Acoustical ceiling tiles in healthcare should support important indoor environmental quality components such as acoustics, light, aesthetics, and indoor air quality. High-performance ceiling systems that are durable will hold up to infection control and cleaning measures, while also enhancing natural light and resisting moisture and mold. In this setting, products that support Indoor Air Quality can lessen the load on patients already dealing with illness and provide staff with a healthy environment as well. Extremely important to healthcare facilities are speech privacy and intelligibility, which requires ceiling tiles and systems that absorb sound so that health providers can communicate vital information and patients can sleep and recover in peaceful spaces.

The pandemic provided a spark in innovation for design. Medical centers are expected to redesign and, in future builds, imagine a whole new way of incorporating infectious disease rooms with other areas of care, in addition to lobbies, conference centers, and offices—all of which can quickly adapt to patient care if there is a crisis. These innovations continue to evolve to meet health, safety, and wellness needs by understanding and specifying for the most durable and lasting cutting-edge technologies. Ceiling systems play a major role in this evolution.

CASE STUDY: ACOUSTICS AND CARE EQUITY

Photo courtesy of Rockfon

Project: Mission Bay Medical Offices
Company: Kaiser Permanente
Location: San Francisco, California

Mission Bay is one of the fastest growing live-work neighborhoods in San Francisco, California, and a perfect place for innovative design. Kaiser Permanente chose the neighborhood for the location of its medical office building—a nine-story, 220,000-square-foot structure that meets highest standards for sustainability and incorporates IEQ elements on a variety of levels.

Kaiser Permanente Mission Bay offers health care services, from adult and pediatric care to women’s health services, plus a pharmacy, a laboratory, and optometry and optical sales. The facility also features a state-of-the-art MRI suite and consult rooms to support one-on-one counseling and care advice for families and individuals, as well as virtual visit technology that allows for quick telemedicine referrals to specialists.

The building is part of a wave of Kaiser Permanente medical offices designed with the goal of enhancing the care experience by using technology and space to make getting medical care easier, more convenient and focused on choice. It can house more than 100 doctors’ offices and employ approximately 500 health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, technicians and administrative staff.

With so many services and a desire for elevating the experience of the occupants, material selection was key. In particular, the ceiling was designed to center on the patient comfort, safety and health, as well as support the staff and visitors. The top priorities for product specification were: optimizing acoustics with sound-absorbing ceiling panels that deliver a high Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC), contributing to the indoor environmental and air quality (IEQ/IAQ) with GREENGUARD Gold certified products, and providing easy-to-clean materials that improve infection control.

In this case, the design-build team chose a whole-package selection of acoustic stone wool, metal and grid. Acoustical stone wool ceiling panels, concealed metal ceiling panels and 15/16-inch ceiling suspension system, plus trim. The smooth white surface was chosen for the majority of the common areas, which provided light reflection, and extended the natural daylight while also reducing the need for electric lighting. As with the PGA project, the Mission Bay offices were finished to mimic wood for a natural, biophilic element.

Acoustic enhancements and perforations allow these metal panels to provide high-quality sound absorption, as high as 0.90 NRC. Custom, decorative perforation patterns further distinguish the reception area’s ceiling design. In this project, acoustics was especially important for speech intelligibility. The medical facility has dedicated services focusing specifically on Latino health and is equipped with new exam room technologies, including a large screen for better interpretive and educational services. To ensure the safety, equity and quality of the health care provided, qualified on-site Spanish and Chinese interpreters are available. Telephonic interpretation is available for more than 200 other languages. Serving a diverse population makes acoustics essential to communicating accurate information and providing an environment that is welcoming to all and solidifies itself as part of the neighborhood community.

In addition to key IEQ components, the stone wool products featured in the ceiling systems are GREENGUARD Gold certified for low emissions into indoor air during product usage. And, as with PGA, the wool and metal ceiling systems used in the Mission Bay project clean easily, resist water and moisture, and do not support mold, mildew or potentially harmful microorganisms, which contributes to a healthy indoor environment for occupants with vulnerable immune systems.

The project meets LEED Gold certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s new construction rating system. Features range from solar panels, natural light and outdoor views to maximized water and energy efficiency throughout the building.