Jurong Health is the public healthcare cluster formed to facilitate the integration of healthcare services and care processes for the community in the west of Singapore.
The management group operates the new integrated healthcare hub comprising of a new 700-bed Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and a 400-bed Jurong Community Hospital. The project’s management team insisted on high quality flooring that would last at least fifteen years.
The challenge and subsequent supply was awarded to international French flooring giant Gerflor. The local Gerflor distributor partner NSK Baustoffe (S) Pte Ltd supplied all the products and also managed the complete installation.
As a true healthcare multi-specialist, Gerflor has over sixty years’ experience in healthcare and has grown to become a true expert in this field. They create, manufacture and market innovative, decorative, durable, hygienic and environmentally responsible flooring for a host of healthcare related solutions.
The largest area to be specified and supplied would be the wards and general visitor areas which would need 85,000m2 of Gerflor’s hugely successful Tarasafe Ultra slip resistant safety flooring.
Bertrand Chaumet, Managing Director, Gerflor UK and former Head of Gerflor Asia, commented: “Gerflor’s very large colour palette allows for a real ‘earth to sky’ design, a requirement which was made by Jurong Health to CPG Consultants.”
Tarasafe Ultra range of specialist slip-resistant vinyl safety flooring is inlaid with mineral crystals particles, as opposed to industry standard carborundum. This gives a brighter appearance, it also comes with a tough PVC wear layer and meets the EN Standard of 22196 for anti- bacterial activity (E. coli - S. aureus - MRSA) (3) returning >99% levels of growth inhibition for optimum hygiene and easy maintenance. Tarasafe is also 100 per cent recyclable.
The new healthcare project at the NG Teng Fong and Jurong Community Hospital would also see 12,500m2 of Gerflors’ Taralay Premium flooring specified for their corridors.
Bertrand Chaumet goes on to further comment: “with a proven track record in this healthcare segment we had previously supplied 65,000m2 of our multi-layered Taralay Premium flooring to the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore. “He also adds, “Our Taralay Premium Metallica product had been installed at Khoo Teck Puat where AGV’s (automated guided vehicles) run all day long without any trace of wear and tear on our flooring and it’s still performing well after more than five years of intense usage.”
Taralay Premium Compact provides excellent resistance to static and dynamic loads. With quick indentation recovery (0.02mm) and superb dimensional stability – minimal rucking when heavy objects are wheeled across the surface. This multi layered vinyl flooring has a long lasting appearance through the incorporation of densely pressed colour chips in the wear layer. Treated with a new and improved Protecsol2 surface treatment with extreme stain resistance and a matt finish, no polish is required for the entire lifetime of the product, thus reducing maintenance costs.
Bertrand Chaumet further explains: “Both our Tarasafe and Taralay products provide extreme ease of maintenance with very low consumption of detergent and water which meets the islands high environmental standards.
The VIP rooms of this joint healthcare facility would also need a particular flooring solution that could provide good levels of sound insulation and comfort underfoot. The obvious choice for this 8,500m2 area would be Gerflor’s Taralay Impression Comfort Wood.
Taralay Impression Comfort is an acoustic solution with Very High Density (VHD) foam backing reinforced with glass fibre and has a printed design protected by a transparent wear layer 0.65mm thick. It offers 19dB sound insulation and indentation resistance of 0.08mm.
The physio rooms in the NG Teng Fong and Jurong Community Hospitals would need more than 1800m2 of a sports flooring solution that could deliver performance, comfort and safety. Taraflex Sport M Evolution from Gerflor would be the specified product.
Taraflex has been used in every summer Olympics since 1976 and is available in 17 colours and two wood-effect designs. The Sport M Evolution product offers a very high P1 category shock absorbency which exceeds 25% and meets the EN 14904 Standard for indoor sports surfaces. Taraflex is recognised for providing durability, safety and comfort without impairing performance. The range also offers greater than 45% force reduction, making it unrivalled in the marketplace in terms of offering comfort for users. Taraflex also meets the EN Standard of 22196 for anti- bacterial activity (E. coli - S. aureus - MRSA) (3) returning >99% levels of growth inhibition. The product is also treated with Protecsol, which renders polish redundant. Taraflex has a double density foam backing and is environmentally friendly.
Bertrand Chaumet further comments: “Simple but effective designs across the hospital allow for renovations and repairs in case of damages. The client was also looking for a matt surface to respect the patients suffering from dementia.”
As in most hospitals, flooring needs to have a high resistance to the chemicals used. Bertrand Chaumet explains: “Gerflor products are treated with SparClean and Protecsol2 which allows for such requirements and these have previously proven their worth among many hospitals in Singapore.”
Bertrand Chaumet finally ends by saying: “All the flooring supplied at Ng Teng Fong and Jurong Community Hospital came from our ‘comfort’ versions and were specified to fulfill an acoustic minimum level of 16dB, delivering underfoot and reducing hospital staff fatigue.”
