ICRA Office Hours · Recorded Session

Negative Air Requirements and Challenges in Healthcare Construction

ICRA Office Hours. July 24, 2026. Featuring Robert Booth, MPH, CIH (Oncore, ICRA 2.0 Co-Author) and guest Josh Skinner (Omni CleanAir).

About this session

Negative pressure is the control most teams say they have and most teams struggle to actually hold. In this session, Robert Booth sits down with Josh Skinner of Omni CleanAir, Oncore's HEPA and negative air partner, to talk through how to size, place, and balance negative air machines so containment actually holds pressure. Josh brings the equipment side, sharing what his team sees in the field and how to set machines up so the room holds, while Robert connects it back to the ICRA requirements. The session closes with troubleshooting guidance for when the pressure gauge swings or the room will not hold negative.

Topics covered

  • Sizing and placing negative air machines so the room actually holds pressure once containment goes up.
  • HEPA filter selection and air change calculations for the space you are containing.
  • Exhaust routing decisions and how they affect whether containment holds.
  • Why containments fail smoke tests, and how to pass the first time.
  • Troubleshooting a pressure gauge that swings or a room that will not hold negative.

Coming up

Future sessions cover NFPA 241 changes, dust containment entries, and other core ICRA topics. New office hours are posted here every month.

These sessions are free, and course takers can attend live and ask their own questions.

Explore the ICRA 2.0 online course →