A day in the cleanroom

KELLER’s company premises consist of several buildings, each of which is named after a gemstone. On the ground floor of the Sapphire building (which is blue) is a unique room – the cleanroom. It is a Class-7 cleanroom, meaning that the number of airborne particles within it is kept to a low level. It’s also a controlled environment in which research is conducted and products are manufactured or processed further. The conditions in the cleanroom are primarily designed to ensure that no particles can get in. They also guarantee that the humidity, air pressure and temperature in the cleanroom remain constant. More importantly, this protects the products being manufactured or processed within this space. At first glance, the cleanroom resembles an operating theatre: everything is sterile and protected, and the room is completely airtight. Before we entered the room, we had to dress in accordance with its rules. This included donning protective clothing, ESD shoes and latex gloves. The task we were given was simple: As part of a project, we had to stick a protective foil cover to the sensor flange (empty transducer housing) of a pressure transmitter and then carefully package it. We split the task between us – while my colleague cut open the little bags containing the sensor flanges, I stuck on the red foil covers and put them to one side before repeating the process. My colleague then put the sensor flanges back into their bags, folded them with care and placed them into a sterile box. Conclusion We had quite a pleasant afternoon. Even with the whirr of the air conditioning in the cleanroom, we were able to work quickly and concentrate on our work. We learned that there are many different stages involved in preparing a product for dispatch. Hard work and less demanding tasks are also part of that, and are essential to getting the product over the finishing line.

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