Faith Technologies Project Spotlight: Exact Sciences Nexus One

Exact Sciences, a global life sciences and cancer diagnostics company, recently undertook project additions at its Nexus One building located at its Madison, Wisconsin campus. The project included three areas: its research and development center, as well as laboratory and warehouse additions.

Project Scope

Faith Technologies has been part of more than a dozen major projects with Exact Sciences. Our scope on this included lighting installation, lighting controls, laboratory power, mechanical power, one-line distribution, power monitoring/metering, fire alarm, access control, security cameras and emergency communication systems. Our work also provided additional redundancy for UPS systems by installing a static transfer switch.

Utilizing the manufacturing capabilities of our sister division, Excellerate, much of the fabrication was done off site, including feeder conduit pre-bends, building information modeling (BIM) and panel builds. This positively impacted productivity, which was critical while work took place on two buildings simultaneously. Faith’s systems experience and knowledge of Exact Sciences’ facilities enabled us to provide intricate security systems throughout the facilities, all integrated to the Security Operations Center (SOC), tying back to their main facility and into the entire campus.

For the safety of all team members and to enable Exact Sciences to remain operational as a major medical testing facility, facility shutdowns were meticulously planned and managed as new systems were connected with existing facilities and systems. Meetings were held with Exact Sciences’ operational and lab leadership to plan out system connections and cutovers. Critical operation needs, such as refrigerator/freezer temperature parameters, were maintained at all times to ensure the highest quality testing was continued and no loss or contamination of specimens occurred.

Overcoming Challenges

Lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected supply chains across the world and required us to manage our material needs differently. Based on our experience with Exact Sciences and knowledge of their facilities, we were able to procure long-lead items before designs were completed, having confidence in those decisions and enabling the project to be completed on schedule.

Project commissioning was also impacted by pandemic-related delays, as well as delays with other trades. We developed a phased commissioning approach, rather than commissioning everything at the end of the project, to enable system start-ups earlier in the project. With a plan utilizing existing distribution systems and temporary power systems to turn on equipment for early commissioning and start up, all trades stayed on schedule without having compression and stacked trades at the end of the project.

Innovation

Many of the technologies utilized on the Nexus One project incorporated innovative processes. Electrical metering and energy management systems were utilized during both design and construction, as expansion of their current systems. The electrical metering system installed in previous projects was critical to design when evaluating loads and sizing electrical equipment, which ultimately helped reduce the project’s overall budget. Automation processes were also incorporated into their facilities to help them improve processes and become even more efficient, as well as to support quality control.

Based on our energy expertise and coupled with our experience working with Exact Sciences, we were able to prepare for future solar energy integration during the Nexus One project, even though renewable energy was not part of this project scope.

Faith Technologies is proud to continue to support the growth of Exact Sciences’ facilities through our design, engineering and electrical expertise. Their success has a far-reaching impact, and directly reflects Faith Technologies’ core purpose of Creating World-Class Opportunities to Succeed – for us, our clients and our communities. Contact us today if you would like more information about our design, engineering or solutions services.