10 Industry Tips when Designing a Cleanroom

by William Woods Blogger Recent inventions like Nanotechnology, genetic engineering, AI, and cloning have revolutionized the way we do things. One common factor that makes all these inventions possible is a clean environment thanks to clean rooms.

A cleanroom is critical in the manufacturing process because it keeps away harmful particles that can cause product failure or contamination. Whether you are designing a traditional or a modular cleanroom, there is a need to sit down and establish a few things.

Here, we detail some of the considerations you must take into account when planning and designing a cleanroom.

1. Industrial application

The industrial application will hugely determine the design requirements of the cleanroom. For instance, healthcare products manufacturing requires different components of food manufacturing. There is also biological and chemical research, which will call for extra facilities to get rid of hazardous materials.

2. Traditional cleanroom versus modular

Traditional cleanrooms that were established in actual buildings are expensive and rigid. Today thanks to technology, you can design a modular cleanroom, which can be temporary depending on the need. Companies have been known to make a cleanroom trailer that can work when you are conducting a process away from the company premises.

3.  Cleanroom standards

To avoid any confusion, ISO Standard 14644 lays down the law regarding various designs and construction of clean rooms. The regulations are there to ensure the safety of all concerned when building clean rooms. Apart from classes 1 to 9, the standards also address the design of clean rooms meant for pharmaceutical manufacturing.

4. Energy requirements

A typical cleanroom can need 10 to 100 air changes every hour. This means that you need a bigger HVAC system and more power. It also means you provide bigger spaces for the cooling units because they are larger and more powerful. Other components that need an upgrade include air passageways, noise suppression units, backup generator, large exterior intake, and vibration suppressant.

5. Proper airflow

The design of an efficient cleanroom must direct the highest pressure to the busiest part of the room. This allows contaminants coming from people and equipment to be flushed out more. Figuring out how the airflow moves is one of the most significant considerations when planning.

6. Surround clean room with clean zones

When designing a clean room, you must think of it as the inner part of an onion. It has to be surrounded by clean zones that serve as transitional places before entering the room. In the case of a cleanroom trailer, the clean zone can be a greenhouse or several.

7. Airlock changing zones

When designing a clean room, you must provide airlock changing zones where the personnel can change and clean up before coming into the room. There should also be a material transfer room where everything is decontaminated before going into the room.

8.  Shower and laundry services

When entering the cleanroom, one must go through the changing room and wear protective clothing. However, in the case of pharmaceutical or any other hazardous work, you also need to decontaminate when you come out. Shower and laundry services must be provided for that.

9.  Work with the airflow

The layout of the room must be placed away from critical areas. For instance, if the air flows straight from the ceiling to the floor, keep the working area, tables, and equipment away from the walls.

10.  Cleanable surfaces

The cleanroom has to be cleaned regularly. When choosing materials for the room, consider stainless steel for work surfaces because it’s easy to clean and doesn’t shed particles. Sealed vinyl floors also work best as do large laminate panels that won’t contaminate the room.

There is plenty to consider when designing a cleanroom, especially one that handles hazardous materials. Once construction is over, a validation test, according to ISO Standards 14644 must be carried out.

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Created on Mar 17th 2020 06:35. Viewed 530 times.

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