UofL RBL BSL3 Facility Management, Maintenance and Operations Core

SUMMARY: Facility Management, Maintenance and Operations (FMMO) Core The Center for Predictive Medicine (CPM) Regional Biocontainment Lab at the University of Louisville was designed and constructed following established guidelines to provide a safe facility for the trained and qualified personnel to work with hazardous pathogens while protecting themselves, the community, and environment. In order to assure that the structure and specialized content within hold up to the exceptional standards over the years, a highly skilled and dedicated team of individuals from all walks of life e.g., project management, technical trades, biosafety, animal welfare, security, business services, information technology, and senior scientific professionals to name a few, must combine their expertise to reach this goal. The CPM Facility Operations Manager is paramount in the success of the management, maintenance, and operations 24/7/365. The established activities, processes and workflows are based on risk assessment and communicated to all stakeholders. Preventive maintenance is the strategy employed to make certain preparedness is the foundation for fulfilling the CPM mission. Each facet (management, maintenance, and operations) is essential to the reliability, longevity, and purpose set forth in 2009 and have an impeccable record to affirm its efficacy. In addition, personnel must be familiar with the standard operating procedures, safety protocols, security access measures, emergency procedures, BSL-3/ABSL-3 practices and are trained and educated annually to review, refresh, and reinforce the basis of proper steps to safely complete their assigned tasks. Collaboration and communication with law enforcement, Homeland Security, FBI, public health agencies, government entities, university and local subject matter experts, other groups in the NBL/RBL Network, inspectors and service technicians all enhance the outcome. Based on our historical successes, the contributions (impact, commitment, involvement, dedication) of the FMMO Core provide the necessary assets for our expert scientists to be at the leading edge of infectious diseases research and readiness to respond for another pandemic.