The tools we use

04/01/2005

People concerned with contamination control certainly know a lot about such things as cleanrooms, barrier isolators, minienvironments, fume hoods and glove boxes. These are just a few of the tools of the trade. They also know a lot about the unique garments, gloves, wipes, swabs, cleaning and disinfecting agents, paper, furniture, masks, and the host of other highly specialized tools used in contamination-controlled manufacturing environments every day.

They know about them, and they also know how critical the right choice of product-in terms of design and technology, application, reliability and quality, documentation and support-is to their ability to successfully and efficiently do their jobs.

Why then, one might ask, do these same people not always have the final say (or in some cases any say at all) in the products that are being purchased for their use in their own working environments? Likewise, why would their extensive knowledge and expertise not be sought out when making critical purchasing decisions that could impact millions of dollars worth of product?

As is frequently the case, the answer lies in shortsighted, bad management decisions-decisions based on the examination of a single, isolated balance sheet in a comfortable office or fabric-panelled cube, rather than from a full understanding of the processes and risk factors associated with the real-world production floor. Apparently, for the sake of demonstrating a penny “wisely” saved, there’s no limit to the pounds of foolishness a detached corporate management structure will purchase for its critical manufacturing operations.

The contamination-control industry has certainly been battling this problem for a while now. For example, an increasingly large number of end-user companies are conducting so-called “reverse auctions,” where multiple suppliers are pitted against each other on anonymous computer screens to give away their products at the lowest possible price without regard for any other factors or considerations.

Sole-source distributor arrangements are also becoming more common. This is where one distributor locks up all the business from an end user by guaranteeing the lowest priced products across the board. They then, of course, only recommend the products and suppliers that can be delivered at those prices.

Contamination-control products and suppliers are very definitely not all the same. New technology, product innovation, special features, superior quality, and reliable support require an additional investment, and this is necessarily reflected in an incremental price premium. End users certainly understand this when it comes to pricing and marketing their own products. They would be wise to remember it when they are deciding which company’s tools they will purchase to make them, and who will make those purchasing decisions.

-J.S.H.