Critical success factors influencing the certification of biocontainment research facilities in Kenya: a case study of high containment research facility in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The planning, designing, building and operating a bio containment laboratory is a complex, costly and risk based project. Confounding this issue is the true need for these facilities for personnel in developing regions like Kenya, to participate safely in the battles against epidemics. The main purpose of this research is to address the gap in research specifically on implementation and certification of complex high containment biomedical research facilities dealing with hazardous agents in developing countries. As a result, the ability to identify the critical factors for success in projects of this nature is lacking.

The study of the critical success factors (CSFs) are considered to be a means to improve the effectiveness of a project. The factors identified from literature reviews for this study are; project management, project design coordination, risk assessment, the regulatory environment and the commissioning process. These factors form the focus studied in this research in reference to their contribution to project success in the Kenyan context. This research particularly dwelt on a specific case study of the design, construction and certification of the high containment facility in a research institute in Nairobi, Kenya. The study was able to answer the research questions that were set out in the introduction.

It was found that four of the five critical success factors (CSF's) were mentioned as critical with regards to interviewee's perceptions. The study concluded that the factors that were considered critical in the certification of the high containment research facility were: effective project management, design coordination, the commissioning process and risk assessment. The regulatory environment was a factor that was considered as important, but not critical to certification. Recommendations were directed towards decision makers in similar research institutions in Kenya, relevant policy makers, consultants, researchers and other stake holders to consider the above critical factors as guidelines in their processes in order to ensure that the plans and processes in similar projects are focused towards certification of the high containment laboratory facilities.