Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

The Winding Road to Automation

By R&D Editors | April 1, 2007

Automation is touted as the “magic bullet” to preventing contamination problems. We often assume that automation improves the process by removing the people. We know that humans generate contamination, both particulate and thin-film. While removing the people may eliminate one contamination source and one source of variability, there is far more to automation than, well, automating. You may have removed the human factor from the operation, but notfrom the process design.

Automation typically requires a substantial investment in capital equipment and facilities modification. Therefore, automated critical cleaning is reserved for true, value-added applications, such as removal of process chemicals or achieving the desired surface characteristics. Because the automation process is designed by people, investing plenty of up-front time can result in a more effective automated assembly.

UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS
Automation brings consistency. Too often, processes are automated without fully grasping the nuances of the process in question and of the overall production environment. When this happens, the automated process may be consistent,but it can be consistently incorrect.

Process understanding has been divided into eight stages of knowledge.1 In Stage 1, we know the product works, but have no idea of how to achieve the desired output. In Stages 2 through 5, we begin to recognize major variables, grasp the relevance of variables, engage in metrics, and then begin to exert local control over the variables. In Stages 6 and 7, we understand how the variables impact the output. Stage 8 is complete knowledge; a lofty goal rather than a status achieved by mere mortals. Table 1 describes the relationship of these stages to cleaning and contamination control processes.

Stage

Stage of Knowledge

Comments

1

Complete ignorance

Can be a pathway to innovation

2

Awareness of parameters,
ignorance of relative importance

Assembly as art, process steps
kept secret, not written

3

Understand parameters, can’t control them

Environmental or customer mandates
can restrict options & advancement

4

Control of mean, uncontrolled parameters

Beginning of process control

5

Process capability

• Cleaning recipes
• May reveal over-cleaning,
over-purification of chemicals
• Cost savings

6

Process characterization

• Understanding “how” process works
• Fine-tune, optimize output
• Reduce costs
• Must reach this stage for successful
automation

7

Understanding “why” the process works

Rarely achieved in surface
preparation

8

Complete process understanding

A goal to approach

Table 1. Automation journey applied to surface cleaning and contamination control

OBSERVE THE PEOPLE
In our experience, the shortest route from Stage 1 to Stage 5 is to work directly with the technicians. In eliminating the human operator without good understanding of the cleaning process, primary sources of knowledge may be inadvertently ignored. Even if technicians follow every step of supposedly well-documented fabrication and cleaning processes, the first step in automation should be to determine what the process steps actually are, not how steps are written in the work instructions. Understanding people involves observing and questioningin a retribution-free environment.

EMBRACE CHANGE
Often, particularly for critical devices, the details of the desired surface characteristics or attributes are not known. There may be in-house or industry standards, sometimes related to unfortunate product failure, but they may not be complete. For aerospace, pharmaceutical, medical, and microelectronicapplications, performance requirements may shift and the desired surface quality may be even more elusive. For this reason, there is growing realization that automation must be based on a dynamic, interactive, knowledge-based model rather than on a static model. Automation is not a two-dimensional “as the crow flies” commute. As our understanding of product requirements changes, the journey through the stages of knowledge inherently needs tobe repeated.

Reference

1. Bohn, R. E. “Measuring and managing technological knowledge,” Sloan Management Review, 36(1), 61-73, (1994).

Barbara Kanegsberg and Ed Kanegsberg are independent consultants in critical and precision cleaning,surface preparation,and contamination control.They are the editors of The Handbook for Critical Cleaning,CRC Press. Contact them at BFK Solutions LLC.,310-459-3614; [email protected];www.bfksolutions.com.

 

Related Articles Read More >

6 essentials for seismic rated cleanrooms
Critical Spaces Control Platform
Phoenix Critical Spaces Control Platform uses automation to direct airflow
Endiatx
Endiatx aims to boldly go beyond traditional endoscopy and, eventually, redefine surgical scale
FMN Laboratory researcher in a cleanroom
Take our quiz to test your cleanroom IQ, covering everything from ISO Classes to ULPA filtration
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE