Cleanroom Industry Requirement Standards

Cleanroom Industry Requirement Standards

A cleanroom’s performance requirements identify the cleanroom class level required at a given state or condition. There are three level of condition (states) for testing and characterizing the performance of cleanrooms: as-built; at rest; and operational. Specific test methods for these three classifications are outlined in 14644-3:2005.

Most cleanrooms are rated and sold in the as-built category—an empty room with the filter system running, but without workers and production equipment. However, adding workers and equipment will introduce contamination and affect the room rating. A clean room may be rated ISO 6 at rest, but at ISO 7 during operation. To comply with performance requirements, the as-built empty room should be tested and benchmarked, followed by testing and documentation of the at-rest and operational states. If contamination in the at-rest or operational states is not in compliance, corrective steps need to be taken. These steps can range from examining the production process and number of workers in the cleanroom, to testing the room’s air flow performance.

In addition, cleanroom air flow performance can be cost-effectively upgraded by adding fan filter modules (FFM). For example, FFMs cover approximately 5-15% of an ISO 8 Class cleanroom ceiling. Upgrading to an ISO 7 cleanroom requires 15-25% ceiling coverage and covering 25-40% of the ceiling changes the room to an ISO 6 Class.