by Richard A. Matthews
Myth: People always listen to and learn from current information.
Reality: People only do so when they get in trouble.
It is amazing the amount of information that bombards us daily. I read 10 to 12 monthly trade journals, another 5 or 6 professional society newsletters and magazines plus 3 or 4 monthly general scientific interest magazines and a daily newspaper.
I also subscribe to a weekly business newsletter and on top of that, there are 44 channels on my home TV. Of course, I have my regular business correspondence to attend to from three separate business ventures, and now I am learning how to use the Internet. Needless to say, this bombardment just gets louder and more intense.
So what does all of this have to do with the world of cleanrooms? I have been truly appalled at the lack of comprehension in the cleanroom community about the new ISO global cleanroom standards.
Has anyone been listening, reading, learning, comprehending? Most of you know what SETI is. It is an acronym for the “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.” That is not a kook concept. It is being scientifically explored daily.
I believe that we need to initiate a cleanroom community acronym—SEBI, the “Search for Earthbound Intelligence.” For more than four years information about the ISO global cleanroom standards, which are being written by the 37 nations of the ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC209 “Cleanrooms and Other Associated Controlled Environments,” has been published in trade journals, including CleanRooms. [Please visit www.cleanrooms.com to search our archives.] There have been numerous technical presentations world-wide on this activity.
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Yet the message does not appear to be getting through to those who really need to know: YOU.
Eleven all-encompassing standards are being prepared for your use. You need to know all about them, for they cover all aspects of a cleanroom, from conception through design and construction to daily use. We have truly become a global cleanroom community.
The first of these new standards, ISO 14644-1 “Classes of Air Cleanliness” was published on May 1, 1999, and became mandatory in the European Community on November 1, 1999. In Europe all the new ISO cleanroom standards become mandatory six months after publication by ISO. Mandatory use of these standards automatically causes European national standards to be cancelled. Such change is also formally being executed in many Asian nations. At least eight more of the new standards will be formally published this year, with the final ones being published in 2001 when the work of ISO/TC209 will be completed.
Too many cleanroom community people claim not to know about this activity. Sure, we are bombarded daily with information, but I strongly suggest that you become familiar with these standards now. They will affect your business, your profession and your job.
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Regulatory authorities in Europe and Asia are already using them, so if you do business in those parts of the world, you will be impacted immediately. If you are an ISO 9000 Registered organization, you are required to comply with all pertinent ISO standards applicable to your business. This means you will need to comply with the current version of ISO-14644 and ISO-14698 standards.
Sure, standards seems like a dull subject, but we all use standards in our daily life. How do you know what size clothes to buy, what grade of gasoline to buy, how much is in a liter, etc?
Think about it. We have great influence on the lives of others through the products manufactured in our clean space. We have a responsibility to them and to ourselves. Exercise your earthbound intelligence. Be prepared. Be smart. Learn ISO.
Editor's note: Copies of these ISO documents may be purchased for a nominal fee from the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology, 940 East Northwest Highway, Mt. Prospect, IL 60059 PH: 847-255-1561; FAX: 847-255-1699; e-mail www.IEST.org.
Richard A. Matthews is founder of Filtration Technology Inc. (Greensboro, NC) and president of Micron Video International. He is chairman of the International Organization for Standardization Technical Committee ISO/TC 209 “Cleanrooms and associated clean environments,” and past president of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology. He is on the CleanRooms Editorial Advisory Board.