Staying ahead in the world of cleanrooms through Continuous Professional Development (CPD) – and so much more…
Staying ahead in the world of cleanrooms through Continuous Professional Development (CPD) – and so much more…
Although the idea of a contamination-controlled environment was already a concept to combat the risk of infection in the operating theatre, the impact it could have on manufacturing reliability and accuracy only became recognised during the second world war. That’s where HEPA filters were first used for the production of weapons and aircraft.
However, the man widely credited with the invention of an actual cleanroom using laminar air flow is American physicist Willis Whitfield, who was working with a team at the Sandia National Laboratories on nuclear technologies in the early 1960s.This was closely followed by the first medical procedure, a hip replacement performed in an operating theatre with filtered air.
An essential for the 21st century
Today, of course, a cleanroom is fundamental in many highly regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals – and the high-tech world of semi-conductor production and their application in industries from telecoms to space.
The key is that unwanted particles either cost you your health or your wallet!
Explains ISO Cleanroom Founder Toni Horsfield:
Because we are in such a young industry there are constant developments: as a cleanroom designer, that is the big thing about this fast-paced sector that appeals to me personally….we haven’t finished, we are still learning and developing. As professionals, we are constantly testing and looking for improvements in technologies and methodologies – and we are not alone. We are proud of the fact that people in our world love to share! We celebrate interesting developments and improvements.
— Toni HorsfieldNetworking and shared learning
One of key opportunities for networking and sharing learning across the industry is offered by the Contamination Control Network (CCN), and Toni is a member of its Managing Committee.theccnetwork.org.
Industry meetings and conferences are another fantastic space for learning about new ideas and developments. There are many small but informative meetings that take place up and down the country every year, and the larger industry shows such as the Lab Innovations Conference and the Cleanroom Technology Conference bring the best of the year’s developments to the market.
There are also a number of great magazines in the cleanroom industry: CACR and Cleanroom Technology to name but two, along with countless specialist industry magazines. These provide a great source of knowledge both in their printed magazines but also on their sites and associated blogs.
So what’s the next big thing coming through in the cleanroom industry now?
Technological developments have enabled the new environmental monitoring systems to harness the power of AI to interpret monitoring data. This is an exciting development which could give us new depths of information from which we can move to a more sustainable future.
— Toni HorsfieldISO Cleanrooms’ approach to CPD
In terms of staying ahead with matters specific to cleanroom design and construction knowhow, another regular refresher activity for the ISO Cleanrooms team members is renewing their qualifications.
The Cleanroom Testing and Certification Board – International (CTCB-I) offers qualifications in both Advanced Cleanroom Technology and Cleanroom Testing, and ISO Cleanroom’s testers have all achieved the highest level of ‘Accredited Professionals.’ The team also sign up for (and recommend to their clients) other available training courses which they see very useful for both new starters and time served professionals to embed best practices and new developments. Such courses are those provided by Air Techniques International (ATI)and include:
- HEPA Filter Testing (ISO 14644-3 Photometry)
- Biosafety Cabinet Testing (EN 12469 and NSF 49)
- Airflow Measurement and Testing (ISO 14644 Cleanroom Testing)
- Cleanroom Classification (ISO 14644-1 Particle Counting)
Wider implications as a ‘construction’ company
And for us at ISO Cleanroom, keeping up-to-date isn’t just about our specific industry – because we build the cleanrooms we design, there are a whole host of other regulations and protocols we have to follow.
Safe working practices are essential, and our commitment to this is demonstrated by our CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Scheme) accreditation – an industry-wide acknowledgement of the excellence of our operating standards on site.
Says Anthony Horsfield, a qualified building surveyor who has the role of Project Director at ISO Cleanrooms and personally oversees every installation:
I don’t want to tempt fate but to date our record stands at 1,482 days without any incident.
— Anthony HorsfieldRightly proud of this statistic Anthony adds:
All of our construction team members attend health and safety courses relevant to each job, whether it is asbestos awareness, working at height (including PASMA for the mobile towers we use for access), lifting and handling etc.
— Anthony HorsfieldIn summary, Toni concludes:
We take all aspects of our business very seriously – we keep up to date on everything from our industry specialism, to first aid and cyber security. We outsource both IT support and specialist Health and Safety to make sure we stay ahead – and keep our customers safe and protected too.
— Toni Horsfield