Cleanroom garments: Ask questions, get what you need

摘要

Having recently reviewed articles pertaining to cleanroom garments and their associated programs, it appears that certain aspects of the selection and oversight process receive little if any attention. Ten years ago, a process engineer at Sematech publicly commented that working with cleanroom garments wasn't "rocket science." At the time, I took offense to that statement; however, as time passed, I became more comfortable with what was said. While it's not necessarily a science, it's a necessary and potentially expensive aspect of cleanroom operations that requires attention and understanding. While previous articles have covered, in great detail, the typical costs associated with having a garment program in place, cost is not the only issue. When you sign a contract, you are typically committing your company to a minimum of three years with that supplier. But before end users step into this critical relationship, the right questions need to be asked concerning proper program-level selection and garment management before the ink touches the contract. This month, two concerns will be covered: How to approach the "upgrade" issue and how to better understand inventory and its control within the system.