PCL leans on modular construction expertise for COVID-19 testing, vaccination pods
By On-Site Staff
Construction
One of the retrofitted shipping containers set up as a virus testing unit. PHOTO: Citizen Care Pod Corp
PCL Construction has teamed up with a range of industry leaders to roll out a plug-and-play solution designed to help get Canada’s economy back on track amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contractor, along with WZMH Architects, Insight Enterprises and Microsoft, has been working with Citizen Care Pod Corp. to launch a new, smart screening and testing pod specially outfitted to serve as a mobile COVID-19 testing and vaccination unit.
Built out of 20- or 40-foot shipping containers, the pods can house four to 10 testing stations while maintaining a firm barrier between patients and testers. The retrofitted sea cans are easy to transport and can be quickly deployed and installed with minimal site prep work.
“The Citizen Care Pod is a turnkey solution that accelerates recovery for businesses and public institutions, such as airports, offices, sports and entertainment complexes, construction sites, and more by rebuilding staff and customer confidence that your organization is equipped to ensure their safety,” said Carl Demarco, chairman and CEO of the new company founded in response to the pandemic.
Along with safer COVID-19 testing in the short-term, the company said the pods can be adapted to deliver vaccines and for other health care needs.
On the design and construction side, the team took the care pod project from conception to completion in under a month. PCL leaned on its modular construction expertise to manufacture and assemble the units, while building in a range of technology features. The pods use the contractor’s Job Site Insights IoT platform to monitor conditions inside the pod. They also run the Connected Platform from tech firm Insight to track metrics like wait times and crowd sizing.
