ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

How do you keep the cleanest places in the world clean? German reporter Alexandra Lachner finds out.

Although cleanrooms were for many years intended for sectors such as pharmacy or space technology, they have now become commonplace in a wide range of industries. “The driving force is mainly the consumer”, explains Frank Duvernell, managing director of profi-con. “The demands  products have to meet are continually on the increase:  better hygiene, improved safety and flawless appearance.” So cleanrooms and sterile processes can be found virtually everywhere and hence the need for cleaning.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation operates the cleanest cleanroom in the world with an area of 250 square metres. Dr Udo Gommel, divisional director of the Cleanroom Technology Competence Centre, explains:  “Our cleanroom is - at seven metres high - 10 times cleaner than required by the highest cleanroom class ISO1.” This means that one cubic metre of air may contain only 0.1 micron of particulate. This value must be maintained at all times to enable reliable reference measurements to be made, for example of satellites.

This requires, firstly, a continuous air cleaning operation. “Particle and chemical filters ensure the air is clean and that chemical compounds do not leave any film-like residues which could adhere to the surfaces,” said Dr Gommel.  Secondly, it is also necessary to remove particulate contamination and any sticky or nanoscale particles by manual cleaning.  But what are the key success factors here?

Off the cuff, specialists identify various aspects which, taken together, form a complex picture. Christian Conrady, head of COWA’s Competence Centre Cleanroom, maintains that “each cleanroom is different. The ideal situation for the client is to seek our advice at the planning stage, so that processes and costs can be optimised from the outset”.  Retrofitted installations to accommodate cleaning equipment, for example, are expensive in his experience and do not make the day-to-day work any easier.

The significance of staff motivation plays an important role, as far as Dr Uwe Zöllner, Dorfner Group’s corporate head of cleanroom, is concerned. “We clean where to the naked eye it is already clean. Our staff do not therefore see the results of their work but bear a huge responsibility – in this case, constant motivation is a real challenge.” At the same time it is always important to take account of widely diverse environmental conditions, particularly during assignments abroad. “We recently installed an ISO4 cleanroom on the edge of the Sahara, where sand dust gets into every nook and cranny.”

Given the wide diversity of industries in the cleanroom market, a comprehensive knowledge of the processes involved is crucial, according to Frank Duvernell.  “From the point of view of quality, it is essential to recognise the cleanroom as part of the development or production process and to keep in mind the total process. Every step must be included – it is quite different from forgetting a table when an office is being cleaned.”

Those who have demanding cleanroom requirements should, when choosing their service provider, request confirmation of both the scope and frequency of staff training. For unlike the classification system, there are no standards for training. “The decision regarding a service provider is ultimately always a matter of trust.”