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Flooring made easy
Flooring can be at the bottom of the ladder when planning a new cleanroom. As contamination has a downward flow it is an element not often given as much consideration as those featuring higher in the cleanroom; wall construction, for example. But, a non-cleanroom compliant floor could introduce and harbour contamination to the environment thus putting manufacturing processes at risk.
“The choices and the technology out there in the market are growing,” says Rebecca Smith, national territories manager at Connect 2 Cleanrooms. Smith believes it is important to consider flooring right at the beginning of the cleanroom planning stage, so the correct type is selected. She points out that considerations including GMP requirements, the existing flooring, process compatibility, cleaning protocol and cleanroom type will drive the selection decision.
There are two main cleanroom flooring options, namely loose lay flooring and vinyl flooring. Each has many variants, bringing its own benefits and opportunities. Smith comments: “Both types are available in multiple colours, meaning areas can be colour coded to signal separate zones within the cleanroom, or pathways can be created to signpost operatives.”
Cleanroom Flooring
The bulk of the contamination in a Cleanroom resides on the floor. It is important that consideration be given to the best flooring solution for your application.
Cleanroom VCT Flooring Design
Vinyl Composite Tile (VCT) is a durable flooring material for ISO 7 and ISO 8 cleanrooms. VCT’s reputation for easy cleaning, resilience, and durability is a well-received cleanroom flooring option, but also popular in healthcare facilities, government, and education.
There are a few final preparations required before the final cleanroom flooring installation.
Cleanroom ESD Flooring
Selecting the right kind of ESD (electrostatic discharge) flooring is always a challenge, and in controlled environments, the stakes are particularly high.
While cleanroom environments are known for the exacting standards used to control contaminants, it's ironic that their anti-static flooring doesn't always meet industry specifications. This is a critical concern on several levels:
Cleanroom and ESD requirements
A cleanroom is a controlled environment where products are manufactured. It is a room in which the concentration of airborne particles is controlled to specified limits.
Ecotile’s MD, James Gedye, explains the proposed ISO Standards for Cleanrooms and how Ecotile’s Industrial and ESD Flooring can provide your organisations’ with a simple and reliable solution that fully supports your Cleanroom requirements.
Eliminating sub-micron airborne contamination is really a process of control. These contaminants are generated by people, process, facilities and equipment and must be continually removed from the air. The level to which these particles need to be removed depends greatly upon the standards required for each organisation.
The right cleanroom door
Choosing the right cleanroom door can be tricky, however the cleanroom design and build experts, Kleanlabs, are here to help. Below are 10 things they believe every customer should consider before choosing a cleanroom door
