Before choosing equipment for your cleanroom or laboratory space, it’s necessary to take the time to review the important criteria with your co-workers. Follow these five simple steps to ensure that you order the right equipment for your next project.
Specifications
Ordering the right equipment is critical to maintaining a contamination free environment. Equipment going into a clean environment should be made of easily cleanable, non-porous, and non-shedding materials. To ensure your supplier conforms this criteria, please put all of your requirements in writing including Class level (ISO classification), type of industry, and if there is an ESD or AMC concern. You should receive back a written specification from the manufacturer/supplier that clearly identifies what’s included in their proposal; the materials of construction, standard product features, dimensions, ESD, or AMC compliance; and any other optional features that may be available. Carefully review this information, and then match it against your own.
Durability and resilience
What is the life span of the product? Will the product hold up to the type of environment it is going to be placed in? Corrosive environments will cause degradation to some materials, and the long term effectiveness of the equipment can be jeopardized. For example, over exposure of some products to high levels of humidity can cause rust, or over exposure to too much UV light can cause films to cloud or ooze plasticizers.
Cleanability
One of the most important aspects of selecting the proper equipment for your cleanroom comes down to clean ability. The materials selected must hold up to harsh chemicals needed to sterilize the environment. Stainless steel, aluminum, and powder coat finishes offer the best protection from degradation caused by cleaning solutions. Many disinfectants will cause harm to products made from easily damaged materials such as acrylic, PVC, polycarbonate, high pressure laminates, and other synthetic products.
Replacement parts
If the equipment breaks down, you want to be sure to have backup on hand. Lead times can cause processes to be shut down if they are not readily available. Therefore, I recommend having come crucial spare parts ordered along with your initial purchase. Ask your supplier for the make and model number for each piece of equipment along with a complete parts list. Be sure they include the life expectancy for each part (in years). This assures you are not going to end up without a resource for spare parts in the future.
Quality versus cost of ownership
Although many companies are under pressure to keep the capital expenditures down to a minimum, you must consider both the initial operating costs of the equipment as well as the maintenance costs of the equipment over time. You may pay more for a higher quality piece of equipment, but in the long run the higher quality equipment may save you from having to purchase replacement parts and accessories in the end. Remember the old saying “You get what you pay for” usually holds true!
Kathie Kalafatis is President and CEO of CleanAir Solutions Inc. www.CleanRoomSpecialists.com
This article appeared in the May 2014 issue of Controlled Environments.
