Displaying items by tag: maintenance

When working in a cleanroom it is important to maintain a pristine, contaminant free, environment. The less well-kept a room is then the more likely it is harboring pollutants, which can distort the results of the work taking place within the room. Since these rooms are built to prevent contamination to an exceedingly small degree, not implementing a regular maintenance schedule can fundamentally interfere with the functionality of the room over a period of time. The best way to ensure your work space is pristine, is by creating a regular maintenance routine that is specific to your critical environment’s needs.

Dirt, dust, and contaminants may enter even the most carefully controlled cleanroom as people enter and exit, with material shipments, and more. There are two main categories of contaminants: physical contaminants generated by the cleanroom itself, and process or human action contaminants from cleaning, the movement of goods, and particulates from skin and hair. Floors, work areas, walls, ceilings, and vents must be wiped down during and after each session to keep the environment sterile and secure.

Understanding how to monitor and properly maintain your clean room environment is essential to ensure optimal performance. Used in laboratories and other settings where a controlled environment is necessary, permanent or modular clean rooms vary in size, complexity and use. However, one thing is the same across all industries: Keeping a room contaminate free requires proper procedures put into place to maintain a stringent level of cleanliness.

In order to prevent production downtimes due to defective machines, machines and pure environments should be serviced regularly to ensure that production continues to run smoothly. Such maintenance serves to maintain the functionality of the machine or environment. Particle sources or disturbing influences can be detected and eliminated at an early stage. The risk of plant failure can thus be drastically reduced and the service life of the machine can be extended significantly.

Proper cleanroom maintenance is not only important to keep a cleanroom running efficiently and limit dangerous contamination of processes, but it can also save your company money. Improper cleaning or maintenance of your cleanroom could be costly, even dangerous, and could lead to liability issues — especially in sensitive industries like pharmaceutical cleanrooms, manufacturing of fine electronics, or the development of medical devices. Regular and thorough maintenance keeps a cleanroom in good operational shape and establishes a safe space for employees to work.

Regular maintenance procedures-daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly-help ensure cleanroom compliance, no matter what the cleanroom class. For example, positive-pressure air should be running at full-flow in a Class 10 cleanroom for at least 30 min before cleaning to ensure clean, fresh air within the room. Cleaning starts at the highest point and works toward the floor. Every surface, corner, and ledge are first vacuumed, then damp-wiped with a cleanroom wipe. Operators wipe surfaces one way-either downward or away from themselves-since a "back-and-forth" scrubbing motion can create more particles than it removes. They also use a clean surface of the wipe or sponge with every new stroke to guard against redeposition of contaminates. On walls and windows, the wiping movement must be parallel to the airflow.

To ensure reliable and efficient day to day running of your facility, scheduled clean room maintenance is essential. We offers a complete and comprehensive maintenance and repair service for all aspects of your clean room including the ventilation system, fixtures and fittings and constructional fabric such as floors, ceilings and furniture.

Every cleanroom requires a carefully controlled environment maintained with Good Manufacturing Practices to prevent contamination. In 2012, a fungal meningitis outbreak in the United States was traced to a compounding pharmacy in the Northeast. The pharmacy distributed contaminated vials to medical facilities in 23 states. These were administered to more than 14,000 patients before anyone linked symptoms to the tainted medication.

Proper cleanroom cleaning procedure and maintenance protocol is an immediate, low-cost measure to enhance overall cleanliness, consistency, and contamination control within cleanrooms. This guide provides a framework for cleanroom management, protocol standards, specifications, and processes for general manufacturing and biomedical applications. Because each cleanroom class can require slightly different supplies and protocol, this overview connects best practices with application specific techniques for gowning, wipedown, and particle control. This guide should serve as a resource for understanding broad-line cleanroom consumable needs, but not as a replacement for expertise tailored to your application.