CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
RAUTITAN uses RX+ lead-free fittings, ‘meaning no risk of this harmful contaminant leaching into the water supply’, and ‘can form a comprehensive watertight seal without an O-ring’.
Steve Richmond and Rehau Building Solutions
The Rehau Group is a polymer specialist with annual sales of around €3.5 bn. The independent, privately held company has approximately 20,000 staff at more than 170 locations worldwide – 12,000 throughout Europe, and 8,000 in Germany.
The Building Solutions
division is focused on energy efficiency, and delivers ‘a huge range of solutions’ to the construction industry. It is a supplier of district heating pipework, heating and plumbing, underfloor heating, ‘smart products’, and water management systems. Steve Richmond is
head of Marketing & Technical for Rehau’s Building Solutions division, and has over 15 years’ experience in the heating and plumbing industry, specialising in district heating, underfloor heating, and plumbing. He represents Rehau in a wide number of industry bodies to help inform and influence policy and legislation, and was most recently elected President of the British Plastics Federation’s Pipes Group.
Acoustic performance A key sticking point for occupant wellbeing in healthcare facilities is acoustics – the importance of which was recognised by respondents to Rehau’s survey, with 91% citing that it was either ‘important’ or ‘very important’. Research from King’s College London may offer an explanation for these results, indicating that noise levels in intensive care units regularly exceed 100 decibels. Meanwhile, another survey found that 40% of inpatients were unhappy with the level of noise on their ward. While it would be fair to assume that most of this noise stems from general hospital activity, this re-emphasises the need to minimise sound from controllable sources – such as building services – where possible. A prime example of noise from building services is the disposal of wastewater as it passes through soil and waste pipework, which can be disruptive to those situated in nearby rooms. Here, solutions such as Rehau’s RAUPIANO PLUS offer 17dB(A) performance at flow rates of 4 litres/sec to virtually eliminate sounds of running water or vibrations, in order to maximise comfort for building occupants.
Drinking water Another factor pertinent to occupant wellbeing is the provision of safe drinking water. Naturally, avoiding contamination from both internal and external sources is paramount to upholding the health of patients and staff. At present, the most commonly specified materials for the installation of heating and water pipes are copper and steel, given that metal is the traditional material of choice for this application. When queried on their reasons for specifying these metals, the respondents to Rehau’s survey cited ‘fewer tools’, and ‘more hygienic’, as the primary factors behind this. However, there are a number of arguments to suggest
that copper and steel are no longer the best materials for the provision of drinking water. Despite hygiene being cited as a key reason for the specification of metal pipework, copper and steel are more prone to microbial contamination than other solutions such as polymer and multilayer composite pipe (MLCP). This is especially important given that 83% claimed
110 Health Estate Journal October 2024
that they still specified fittings containing lead, which can leach into drinking water supply if pipework is not properly maintained. While this is already a general concern, it is particularly critical when caring for the vulnerable. Moreover, 42% said they were ‘often’ victims of copper theft, further highlighting the possible risks of specifying this material.
Scope for MLCP Here, there may be scope for MLCP to prove an effective successor to metal pipework. Solutions such as Rehau’s RAUTITAN use RX+ lead-free fittings, meaning there is no risk of this harmful contaminant leaching into the water supply. RAUTITAN is also able to form a comprehensive watertight seal without an O-ring, which is a common point of failure in traditional pipework. Combined with vastly improved installation times, this means that MLCP is truly a fit-and-forget solution ideally suited to the needs of modern care facilities.
Closing thoughts Future-proofing the nation’s healthcare estates against a multitude of factors is no mean feat. Sustainability, cost- effectiveness, ageing infrastructure, and a growing user base, must now be factored into the agenda, all without compromising on the health and wellbeing of patients and staff. Rehau’s report has revealed how these concerns weigh up against one another for those involved in the design of hospitals and other healthcare facilities, with sustainability currently the key driving force in this field. By examining innovative approaches to construction, heating, acoustics, and the provision of drinking water, contractors can help create facilities that simultaneously remain considerate to the environment, and uphold the wellbeing of their occupants despite a flurry of wider challenges. These areas offer only a glimpse into some of the incremental changes architects can incorporate towards achieving truly healthy building design, with this concept only limited by the scope of the designer’s imagination. It is through the application of these principles that facilities will be equipped to fulfil the demands of the future. To download Rehau’s full report, Designing Healthy
Healthcare, visit
https://www.rehau.com/uk-en/ designing-healthy-healthcare-download
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