Table 1.

Work descriptions.

Room type	Work	Work description	Bench type, cages, and racks
Lab/operation room	Experiments	Minor surgery on animals under anaesthesia, behaviour experiments with registration of brain activity, blood sampling, and euthanization	Bench type: ventilated, LAF, other
Animal room	Changing cages	Transfer of animals from used cages with soiled beddings to clean cages with new bedding was primarily done in changing stations with LAF, but some places on ordinary tables/benches	Bench type: ventilated, ordinary, LAF, other/not provided Cage type: open, filter top, IVC+, IVC−, other/not provided Cage-racking system: open shelves, open shelves + sliding doors, IVC, other/not provided
	Animal caring and feeding	Checking general condition of animals, refill of food and water, medication, separation of offspring. Almost all tasks implied opening of cages
Washing room	Emptying cages	Dirty cages with used bedding were emptied in particular emptying stations, mainly with bedding transport band and LAF, in the unclean zone of the washing room. Cage tops were removed, feeders were emptied in the cages, and the cages were stacked on the floor or trolleys at the side of the emptying station. One cage at a time was emptied by turning the cage upside down on the transport band, and subsequently knocking and scraping the rest of the bedding out	Bench type: ventilated, other Cage type: open, IVC+, IVC−, other/not provided Cage-racking system: open shelves, open shelves + sliding doors, IVC, other/not provided
	Washing cages	Cage washing was mainly an automatic process where the cages were washed either by stacking on a washing stand that was rolled into the washing machine, or by placing cages on a transport band that transported the cages through a tunnel washer
	Preparation of new cages	Adding new bedding, food, and water in clean cages were done on the clean side of the washing room
All rooms	Cleaning	Cleaning of surfaces was done successively after work operations throughout the day. IVC units were cleaned regularly with HEPA vacuum cleaning of the filters, and dismantling and cleaning of the ventilation channels. Cleaning of the LAF stations was done after each cage changing session in addition to a weekly main cleaning with HEPA vacuum cleaning. The emptying station and the floor around it were vacuum cleaned after each session of emptying. Main cleaning of all rooms in the facilities was done weekly in some facilities. Existing routines for control and service of IVC ventilation units, emptying station, and the washing machines were followed