CSA Z317.13-17 Role of the Multi-Disciplinary Team: Pros and Cons

A common discussion topic amongst CHES members whenever there is a gathering of CHES members is the difficulty of implementing the CSA Z317.13, Infection Control during Construction or Renovation of Health Care Facilities.

Since the introduction of CSA Z317.13, Infection Control during Construction or Renovation of Health Care Facilities, there has been friction between the Infection Control Group and the Facilities Management group within Eastern Health as to how projects should be done, inspected and closed out as per the CSA Z-317.13 standard. The end result of this friction is conflict between the parties involved, delays in getting projects completed and substantial additional costs added to the projects. The one commonality between the parties was the understanding that something had to change.

For Eastern Health, that change came in the review of Eastern Health’s policy on Infection Control during construction or renovation of Eastern Health’s facilities. The policy was revised to ensure more emphasis on the use of Multi-Disciplinary teams for projects. By the time the webinar is ready to be presented (hopefully in late 2020) we will have had almost a full year to work within the new policy. The webinar will show the issues encountered, how they were resolved, what worked and what didn’t. The webinar will present lessons learned to participants.