The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is undertaking one of its largest laboratory construction projects ever at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. As part of a ten year Department of Defense plan for consolidation, construction and renovation, the newly expanded Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory (FADL) is scheduled to open in early 2014.

Largest Food and Diagnostics Lab in the USA

Formaspace is pleased to announce it will supply lab workbenches, laboratory tables and steel laboratory casework for the FADL project.

Initially Formaspace was awarded the ‘phase two’ portion of the FADL lab furniture contract, which includes supplying all the remaining lab workbenches, lab tables, and steel laboratory casework required to bring the new FADL facility on line. Formaspace was then asked by FADL’s prime contractor to provide the balance of laboratory furniture specified in a ‘phase one’ contract which was originally awarded to Hamilton Scientific. This phase is nearing its successful completion. When the final pieces of lab furniture are in place and FADL opens its doors in early 2014, Formaspace will have fabricated and installed the vast majority of the FADL project’s laboratory workbenches, lab tables, and laboratory casework.  The total laboratory furniture portion of the project is approximately $1 million.

Fort Sam Houston Laboratory Remodel

How will Formaspace’s custom laboratory workbenches, tables and casework be used at FADL?

FADL’s full name — the Department of Defense Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory — speaks to its broad mission in support of worldwide health protection and combat readiness capability of our nation’s armed forces. Formaspace laboratory furniture, including lab workbenches, lab tables and lab casework, will be used at FADL to perform a wide range of laboratory testing services, including:

• Food Safety Testing and Disease Diagnostics

  As the leading DoD laboratory for food safety testing and zoonotic disease monitoring, FADL tests more than 8,500 human, animal and arthropod specimens each year in an effort to track disease outbreaks, including testing for rabies, West Nile virus, brucellosis, leishmaniasis and other public health diseases.

• Food Microbiology and Chemistry

  FADL provides microbiological, chemical and toxicological tests of the food supply chain to ensure the health of DoD personnel and others. On average about 4,000 food samples are tested in the laboratory each year. FADL works closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), sharing results on food borne illnesses so contaminated items can be pulled quickly. FADL also helped develop seafood testing procedures after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

• Cholinesterase Reference Laboratory

  FADL provides occupational health surveillance, as well as a chemical reference library to support the safety and security control measures outlined in the DoD Chemical Surety Program. This program is designed to ensure that people and the environment are protected in chemical agent operations.

Who is the prime contractor that awarded Formaspace the DoD FADL contract?

J&J Worldwide Services (J&J) is the prime contractor for construction of the new FADL facilities at Fort Sam Houston. Founded in 1970, J&J has grown to become a leading DoD contractor providing medical facilities operations and construction services, as well as military base operations support, logistics, and operations and maintenance services. J&J asked Formaspace to step in and assist with a ‘phase one’ contract to provide lab workbench furniture, lab tables and lab casework (cabinets) for the new FADL lab facilities. This ‘phase one’ contract had been initially awarded to Hamilton Scientific.

J&J, whose corporate motto for safety and quality is “do every job right the first time,” was very pleased with quality of Formaspace’s product delivery in ‘phase two’, including our quick response time, strong project management and proactive communication skills. J&J subsequently awarded Formaspace the undelivered balance of ‘phase one’ contract to supply the rest of the laboratory furniture for the FADL project, including all lab workbenches, lab tables and the laboratory casework.

Why did J&J select Formaspace to supply designs for the FADL project?

As a manufacturer of all types of technical furniture, Formaspace has the expertise to manage large projects for enterprise customers. These projects, which can range from $100,000 to over $5 million, require a dedicated team experienced in comprehensive statements of work, detailed engineering blueprints as well as the project management experience to deliver your project on time and on budget. In the case of the FADL project, we quickly assembled a core project team to assist J&J’s construction management efforts. In a matter of weeks, we were able to get up to speed on over 5,600 pages of statement of work (SOW) documentation and engineering drawings that detailed the laboratory design requirements for custom steel lab casework, lab workbench layouts, lab tables and more.

J&J was very impressed with Formaspace’s ability to perform under such tight deadlines. According to Mike Jensen, “With Formaspace, you know you are dealing with a vendor you can trust to be honest, hardworking and reliable. The quality of their all American-made lab furniture is outstanding and they meet their delivery promises. We most definitely plan to continue our successful partnership with Formaspace on this project and other J&J projects in the future.”

Epoxy Peg Board

Why not contact Formaspace today for your lab table, lab workbench and lab casework needs?

Contact us today with your technical furniture needs. Whether you are building a bio-medical, genetic research, toxicology, chemical, electronics or basic research laboratory, we can build the laboratory workbench, wet labs, lab casework cabinets, lab sinks and ventilation hoods for your facility.