WALL PROTECTION AND IPS UNITS


can be supplied ‘in a variety of styles’. All of the BioPod units will now incorporate BioCote’s silver-ion antimicrobial technology, and are fully HBN 00-10 Part C-compliant (HBN 00-10 superseded HTM 64). Claire Redhead said: “They are also the world’s first IPS system to incorporate BioCote silver-ion technology.”


A one-piece design Supplied as one component – thus eliminating joints, split gaps, and the need for flashbacks, the BioPod units have a fully waterproof, 18 mm PVC core. ‘Made to measure’, they are prefabricated with as few joints as practical, and fully wrapped in BioClad antimicrobial PVC, creating ‘an ultra-hygienic unit’. Each IPS unit has hinged and lockable access panels for both security and ease, and speed of access to the services behind. BioClad partners with a number of leading sanitaryware partners, and says it can thus ‘competitively offer’ the units either with or without HBN 00-10 Part C-compliant sanitaryware. Claire Redhead said of some of the


competitor systems: “IPS units have traditionally been manufactured with an MDF core, which is not only water- permeable – unlike our PVC core – and can thus blow and break due to water ingress over time, but is also not that robust. In contrast, ours are designed to be strong, long-lasting, and resistant to damage – all key attributes when supplied to a hospital, GPs’ surgery, or other healthcare facility. With our new production facility, we can manufacture IPS units in as little as 15 days from receipt of order. We supply both direct to NHS Trusts, and to major contractors working on healthcare construction schemes.”


Process explained Customers on major installations benefit from their own BioClad account manager as a key point of contact. “Installations generally begin with us visiting the healthcare facility, discussing the requirements and criteria with the customer, and then producing first drawings,” Claire Redhead explained. “These are then modified as required using on our in-house CAD system, and second drawings produced – to ensure that the dimensions, shape, configuration, and other design characteristics, are exactly as required. We can supply our BioPod IPS panels in a range of sizes, shapes, and colours, and deliver them either direct to site for installation, say, by an NHS Trust’s Estates & Facilities team, or to an external contractor. With their one-piece design, they are quicker and easier to install than an IPS unit comprising several sections.” Claire Redhead explained that BioClad is always receptive to customer suggestions on how its products can be improved – the IPS units being no exception. She said: “For example, some healthcare specifiers have asked us to improve the access panel. As a result, we can now produce them in a way that


THE NETWORK | MAY 2023


BioClad has brought under one roof distribution of its wall cladding at a new depot in Harrogate, to ensure a more efficient, responsive, and tailored supply to customers.


further simplifies access to the pipework. We have also slightly altered the design by incorporating drillholes the whole length of the panel, giving greater flexibility in the siting of the brackets behind, and again, simplifying installation.”


Extending its reach into mental healthcare Having predominantly supplied its IPS units in healthcare to acute and primary care facilities in the past, BioClad is now looking to step up its supply of the units into the mental healthcare sector, and particularly acute mental health facilities. It has recently been working with a number of architects to develop versions of the BioPod with reduced ligature risk. Claire Redhead elaborated: “What


we have done so far is to talk to key professionals within the NHS working in mental healthcare, and a number of NHS Trusts, about how we can optimally manufacture IPS units with reduced ligature characteristics suitable for use in this area of acute mental health. To evaluate, and indeed demonstrate, the resilience and robustness of our BioPod units, we have conducted some tests in the new York production facility to evaluate their strength and ability to resist damage, from say, an agitated or distressed service- user armed with some form of ‘weapon’. “We were pleased to note that


following this sustained attack, none of the panels splintered, suggesting a low risk of parts of them being removed and used to inflict self-harm or harm to others. We have also created an IPS panel with a sloping top to reduce ligature opportunities, and have worked hard to produce door hatches with only a negligible gap between panel and unit the size of a razor blade, making it extremely


difficult for somebody to insert anything into the space. This unit demonstrates a range of characteristics based on standardised rules and requirements set out in the BRE and DiMHN’s recently launched, jointly developed, Informed Choices product performance assessment scheme for products used in mental health settings.”


Bespoke manufacture Returning to the more ‘general’ features of BioClad’s BioPods, Claire Redhead reiterated that they are generally produced on a ‘bespoke’, customer-specific basis, in whatever configuration, shape, and size, the customer requires. Once in situ – they can be specified with a variety of locks – they provide straightforward access to the services, while fitting seamlessly into the wall, but are also sufficiently secure to prevent tampering or damage by all but the most determined aggressor. The addition of the silver-ion additive into the PVC ensures antimicrobial protection for the unit’s lifetime. BioClad has a network of some 280 installers across the UK and Ireland, which those requiring an installation require this service can call upon.


High temperature testing Claire Redhead stressed that the company’s partnership with BioCote, with its long-standing experience in silver-ion based antimicrobial technology, not only gives its customers the added reassurance of the performance of its wall cladding and IPS products, but also first-class technical back-up. She explained: “We regularly submit product samples for antimicrobial performance testing to BioCote, and the particular product line is then re-certified, and marked up to confirm this. One


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