National Cleanroom Day dedicated to contamination control

A special event on contamination control took place in Bussum on Oct. 7: the 13th VCCN National Cleanroom Day. The presentations showed that creating a cleanroom is extremely complex. Various technical disciplines come together and various stakeholders play a role. The V-model offers a practical tool from planning to commissioning.

Day chairman Wouter Burggraaf of VCCN lectures and conferences spoke about the importance of the meeting. "The 13th VCCN National Cleanroom Day is all about raising awareness about contamination control. Gaining and sharing knowledge. Both the air and surfaces in a cleanroom can become contaminated and disinfected. Transmission occurs through particle deposition and direct contact. Humans are the biggest cause of contamination in a cleanroom." Frans Saurwalt of Kropman Contamination Control addressed the purpose of contamination control. "The application of dust- and germ-free rooms is an essential part of the primary process for more and more companies. We use the V-model as a handle in the creation of a cleanroom, from initiative to use. This model reflects the degree of abstraction over time. In the beginning, the client's wishes are abstract. Standards and guidelines provide a handle for specification and design. Wishes and requirements are translated into a drawing with dimensioning and material choices. Construction follows; the cleanroom takes shape. Subsequent validation tests the cleanroom against measurable criteria. The criteria chosen are industry-specific and dependent on the user. Use, the final stage, is about personal behavior and adjustments in use."

Standards, specifications and design
On behalf of Aero-Dynamics, André van Tongeren gave a presentation on standards. "There are many standards and guidelines about cleanrooms. These standards form the basis for agreements between stakeholders. Although it is difficult to fathom these standards, it pays off. The VCCN supports this through courses. ISO standards apply worldwide, CEN standards in Europe and NEN for the Netherlands. Contamination control, for example, is covered by NEN-EN-ISO 14644 (airborne particles) and NEN-EN-ISO 14698 (microorganisms). VCCN RL 09 deals with particle deposition and VCCN RL 10 with air permeability." Peter van Casteren of Philips Innovation Services spoke about design and specification. "What you don't ask for, you don't get. Making a good program of requirements is complex. The production process is central. The design is based on the requested specifications, but even more on the purpose of use. That is the guideline towards construction and validation. Understanding the 'total cost of ownership' is important, understanding costs for energy, cleaning, maintenance and consumables."

Realize and validate
The realization process of a cleanroom was explained by Michiel van Kooten of Cleanroom Combination Group. "Various issues play a role in the realization of a cleanroom, such as ergonomics, air quality, fire resistance and cleanability. Choices must be made about layout and materialization. This affects the construction method and construction sequence. I advise clients to read up well, look at reference projects and work with mock-ups. Setting milestones during the construction process is important, as is communicating changes to all parties involved. Moving up an LAF cabinet, for example, can already affect air circulation." Cleanroom validations were further explained by Edwin den Hartog of Kalibra International BV. "Validation is about control of critical factors for the production process. Validation consists of installation qualification, operational qualification and performance qualification. This involves verifying whether the delivery is according to the drawing, whether the technology works and whether the User Requirements Specs are met. Each industry has specific criteria about HVAC, cleaning, dressing procedures and monitoring."

Operations
Barbara Wessels of Ecolab Contamination Control gave a presentation on operations. "Before a clean room can be entered, people must be wrapped up so that no dander or hair gets into the air. These particles can carry microorganisms. People working in a cleanroom must be well trained. By moving quickly, humans disrupt the laminar flow in a cleanroom. Turbulence causes airborne particles to blow up. Infection can also occur from contaminated materials entering a cleanroom. Cleaning and disinfecting the room remains necessary." The lecture program for new peers was concluded by Wouter Burggraaf: "Nothing is absolute when creating a cleanroom. Keep thinking for yourself. Be continuously aware of the final usage process. We talked today about contamination control, about keeping microorganisms and dust particles out. We are dust and to dust we shall return. Today we gave you food for thought."

Text and photo: Martijn van den Bouwhuijsen

	Project info

Custom cleanroom monitoring

"In hospitals, air quality is mission-critical," says sales engineer Lars Smidt on behalf of Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions. "Patient safety and quality assurance require the use of monitoring systems that independently record the conditions of rooms, equipment and operating procedures." Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions supplies measurement equipment and realizes measurement systems. In an OR, for example, the temperature, humidity, particle concentration and number of door movements are measured and checked to see if critical values are exceeded. "Thanks to our partnerships with end users, our years of experience and our knowledge of regulations, we offer customized solutions as you would expect from the market leader in Environmental Monitoring Systems."
Each (monitoring) solution is 100% tailored to the applicable norms and standards. Lighthouse's complete monitoring solutions allow the entire hospital to work with one system, accommodating all departments with separation of rights of the various users. "This makes monitoring more secure and efficient."

For more info: www.golighthouse.nl

	Project info

Specialist in realization of cleanrooms

Cleanroom Combination Group (CCG) specializes in the realization of dust- and germ-free spaces. The Bergeijk-based company uses an integrated approach from final design to delivery. This provides 'Room for perfection' for clients in the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, biopharmaceutical industry, healthcare, nanotechnology, microelectronics and other high-end industries.

"By listening carefully and thinking along with our customers, we can realize clean rooms in which optimal performance is achieved," says technical director Michiel van Kooten on behalf of CCG. "We have extensive experience in the construction and renovation of operating rooms and have the knowledge, ideas and materials."

Among other things, CCG provides the fixed fixtures, loose furniture, doors, pass-through cabinets, wall system and ceiling system. It also develops products such as the flexible CCG-10 wall system. The wall in the CCG-10 system consists of a free-standing HPL frame into which the technology such as pipes and ducts are incorporated. This frame is covered with a 10 mm thick HPL sheet, which is demountably mounted between the floor and ceiling transition. "Adjusting the technology in or behind the wall is therefore quick to implement and causes minimal disruption to operational processes."

For more info: www.ccgholding.nl