Cleanrooms must be carefully looked after to ensure that not even the smallest contaminant invades the delicate ecosystem. People managing cleanrooms who want to maintain their efficacy should study the factors that contribute to cleanroom contamination. From these rules, you can extrapolate what you must do on a daily basis to make sure the cleanroom stays clean.
Hygiene
Proper hygiene for cleanroom employees does not just mean brushing twice a day and taking regular showers. For a cleanroom to maintain its high standards of cleanliness, employees must be prepared to thoroughly wash their hands and face on a regular basis.
Even small contaminants, such as flakes of dried skin or fingernail dust, could require more cleaning and sacrifice time that could be spent on a project. To avoid these problems, look out for any mistakes and make sure every employee knows their hygiene requirements.
Residual Smoke
Unlike second-hand smoke, which is smoke inhaled by people standing near someone who is smoking, residual smoke involves particles that slowly leave the lungs after someone smokes a cigar or cigarette. If an employee were to smoke during a work break, they could be bringing in those particles when they reenter the cleanroom, thereby contaminating the space.
Cleanroom operators can avoid this problem by instituting a facemask policy. This will stop smoke and other potential contaminants from exiting the mouth and entering the cleanroom.
Operator Attitude
Operator attitude is not one of the physical factors that contribute to cleanroom contamination so much as it is a mental one. As the leader of a cleanroom, you want your operators to have the best possible morale.
Focused, happy employees are safe and productive employees. If you notice that morale has started to slip, you should look for signs that safety has as well. Perhaps the employees are not washing themselves as thoroughly as they should, or they are improperly packaging devices. Do what you can to boost everyone’s energy and remind them how alertness will keep them safe.
Street Clothing
Even though cleanroom rules require everyone who enters to wear garments designed to minimize cross-contamination, you could further reduce the risk if the operators remain conscientious of what they wear underneath these garments. Flannel, suede, velour, and other similar fabrics introduce extra risks to the environment. They create “pills,” or tiny clumps of fabric, that fall off the clothes and compromise the cleanroom.
