CLEANROOMS
A Study - Modular verses Permanent Cleanrooms

24th April 2006

For many of today's Cleanroom applications where it is important to get a new product quickly to market, Sirus's modular cleanrooms offer compelling advantages over permanent, fixed installations. Product life cycles are getting shorter and shorter; the rapidly accelerating advances in technological make the latest developments out of date in a few years. The company that gets its products out into the market first, makes the best profits. This is often the case in pharmacy, particularly small Pharma. Getting planning consent from local government and then waiting for construction to be completed can often mean the product misses its launch date with resulting disastrous consequences. Trying to manufacture complicated miniature products without the benefit of critical environment protection can often mean that the product is late or worse does not function at all.

Consider the following advantages of Sirus Microtech design technology...

1. Cost - Sirus Microtech Modular cleanrooms cost less than 45% as much to build as permanent rooms of comparable size and complexity. Permanent structures also entail the additional costs of multiple contractors, site and weather delays, and planning hassles, increasing the value of a modular cleanroom, whilst complying with planning and environmental considerations. Providing that there is a fairly comprehensive design specification a budget quotation can often be supplied in a few working days giving management a reliable number on which to take investment decisions.

2. Time - Depending on floor plan and overall size, a modular cleanroom can be specified, designed, fabricated in the factory, shipped, installed and tested in around two months. In that time, a permanent structure will still be in the design and local planning phase! The simplicity of design permits last minute changes right up to the moment your design is sealed allowing for those last minute tweaks.

3. Hassle - You will require an architect plus a full-time project manager to handle the contractors and permitting during the many months of constructing a permanent facility. It will also demand a high degree of commitment in time on your behalf taking you away from other important tasks. A modular cleanroom, by contrast, typically requires no involvement on your part beyond initial plan approval: Sirus Microtech will design, send CAD drawings, build, ship, install and test the Cleanroom to your schedule with the minimal involvement or disturbance to existing routine.

4. Performance - In most cases, modular cleanrooms perform as well as permanent structures. Sirus Microtech's modular cleanrooms can be certified to maintain Class 10 particle conditions, among the most stringent in the industry. Almost any ISO standard can be specified. Unlike permanent structures, they can be expanded or reconfigured to meet your future requirements with minimal expense. Modular components, like wall panels, simplify maintenance and make it easy to transfer large equipment in and out of the enclosure. In many case the cleanroom can be constructed around existing equipment obviating the need to move heavy plant.

No Dedicated HVAC - A modular cleanroom maintains the same temperature and humidity as the surrounding room drawing air from the ambient, so you can use existing HVAC facilities to control a modular enclosure. If additional cooling, heating or humidity is necessary, Sirus Microtech's modular air conditioners meet your requirements without the expense and permitting of a dedicated HVAC system.

Facility Optimization - Create the production environment you require without the expense or disruption of a major Cleanroom upgrade! Expand or reconfigure as your requirements change in the future. In some cases these rooms can be classified as plant allowing them to be preferentially taxed.

Surpassed Cleanliness - HEPA or ULPA Filtration and ventilation efficiency required to meet the most rigorous cleanliness standards. Independently certified Class 1.The materials and designs employed facilitate easy cleaning. Walls can be specified in a range of transparent and translucent materials to suit individual needs.

Hardwall, Softwall, Cleanroom Floors, Pass Throughs and AirLock Designs - A style for every requirement, schedule, and budget!

Cleanroom Lighting, either teardrop or recessed to any LUX can be easily fitted bring lighting to where you require it most.

Comprehensive Environmental Controls - Panel mounted controls provide controlover humidity, temperature, and ESD (electro-static discharge) These can be tied into your building EMS if required.

Delivered to Your Production Schedule - Sirus Microtech understands the critical importance of timely delivery and works closely with you to accommodate tight schedules. Expanded configurations provide a wide variety of "need it now!" cleanrooms.

Sirus Microtech Cleanrooms can be found in many situations where a cleaner than ambient atmosphere is specified. Their ease of construction permits installation in restricted locations, brining to many users, technology that was not possible a few years ago.

Author : Alan Waterman-Smith - C.Eng. M.I.E.E. Managing Director Sirus Microtech Ltd.