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University of Bristol Dental School

Case studies , Case studies , Professional blog 10/19/2023

University of Bristol Dental School

A new, state-of-the-art dental school in Bristol will enable students to put theory into practice using the most modern equipment available in a renovated building in the heart of the city. Bristol University is one of the UK's leading dental teaching institutions and its move to a new, purpose-built school will enable the expansion of student places, the availability of new courses, as well as the creation of new jobs. Some three years in the making, the new facility, formerly the site of a leading bank, will open in September 2023 with numerous clinics and 119 dental chairs.

The three-year project was awarded to Kier Construction, who appointed Briggs and Forrester Engineering Services to complete the fit out of the building. To support the discharge of grey water waste at certain points, two of Saniflo's Sanifos underground lifting stations were specified by Briggs and installed in the basement, along with a Sanivite grey water pump.

The first of the Sanifos 610 lifting stations takes the water from a 20,000-litre booster tank in an adjacent plant room during routine maintenance and cleaning. It also provides an overflow for excess water. This is pumped up to street level drainage directly above the unit.

The second Sanifos 610 is sited directly beneath the clinical rooms and takes waste from compressed air and suction drainage tools used by the trainee dentists. The condensate waste from several air handling units installed in the same section of the basement, but on a higher elevation, is also discharged into this Sanifos, which again pumps the waste up to the mains drains.

The use of the large, 610-litre Sanifos underground pumping stations was recommended by a Saniflo pump specialist following a visit to site, where the job was scoped out. The units were ordered from local builders' merchant, Bristol Building Supplies, who organised a swift delivery for installation by the Briggs team.

A third unit, a compact Sanivite+ grey water lifting station, was specified to take waste water samples once per week from side stream filters that monitor the heating and chilling systems throughout the whole building. Water is frequently tested and the resulting waste water pumped out through the Sanivite+ to mains drains. This automatic operation is designed to ensure there is no rust contamination in the pipework to maintain optimum efficiency of the temperature controls.

Nathan Thomas is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Briggs and oversaw the installation of the units. The company has previously used Saniflo products in a number of projects - including the conversion of the former MI5 building into luxury flats in Central London;

“Saniflo products are robust and durable, and we know we can rely on them to do a good job. The support from the Saniflo team is always exceptional whether it's a site visit or a technical phone call and the units are easy to install and maintain. They solved our drainage challenges at the dental school with ease.”