Using laptop in clean room

[stevez]

I had a fault on a machine in a Clean (sterile)room.
The control cabinet and PLC are in the clean room.I had to wrap the laptop in 2 plastic bags .It then was cleaned with alcohol and left for 10 minutes in a pass through chamber.
Problems -the laptop heated up ,its not easy to see the screen through the 2 layers of plastic and glasses and goggles.
Any one come across any good solutions for this type of problem. (another challenge -try to solder wires in a clean room wearing 2 pairs of rubber gloves.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[jstolaruk]

Clean room installations I'm familar with have a remote connection to the PLCs so that I don't even have to enter them. It may help in your situation.

 

[TConnolly]

The other option is to have a dedicated laptop/desktop and licensed software in the clean room - once cleaned it remains in the clean room until it is retired. Clean rooms are expensive. Thats part of the cost of operating one, and anyone who tight-wads clean room operation shouldn't be operating a clean room.

 

[jimbo3123]

Clean room installations I'm familar with have a remote connection to the PLCs so that I don't even have to enter them. It may help in your situation.

That was my first thought too.
Why not have a serial or ethernet connection to the PLC out to an area that you can safely use your laptop.

The only clean rooms I've worked in were around automotive paint spraybooths, so the standard for cleanliness was very minimal (no problem bringing in tools/laptops).

 

[SNK]

I am in the pharma business, and deal with this on an ongoing basis.
It really depends on your company, and the level of cleanliness. If your are talking CLASS III, then you can spray the unit down with Alcohol or a mix of WFI and Isolpropyl alcohol. (Turn the unit off first).
It makes NO SENSE to wrap it in a bag. The person in charge has obviously never dealt with this type of issue before...
Or, as stated above, bring a cable outside of the unit, DH+, 485, ethernet etc.
Good luck,
Or, wait for summer shutdown or Christmas Shutdown....

 

[Steve Bailey]

another challenge -try to solder wires in a clean room wearing 2 pairs of rubber gloves.

They make you wrap your PC in two layers of plastic and then they let you solder in the clean room????

 

[davidg68124]

I am in the pharma business too, we have both situations. Remote links and dedicated laptops for certain areas.


David

 

[TConnolly]

They make you wrap your PC in two layers of plastic and then they let you solder in the clean room????

I thought the same thing. But it probably depends on the purpose of the clean room. If its biological then soldering may not be a big deal. I gathered from the OP that sterility was their primary concern.

Our two clean rooms are not really that clean (just class 100K or ISO 8 - or about 1/5th the airborn particle count of "normal" air) so there are fewer restrictions and we allow soldering, drilling, and non-dedicated tools, including lap tops.

 

[DJM]

A wireless connection?

Or as others have suggested, a wired ethernet connection would solve the problem.

 

[Steve Bailey]

You're right Alaric. I was thinking in terms of particulate count instead of a sterile environment.

 

[stevez]

More info

Thanks to all of you for your replys.
1.On this machine the PLC is on a "transporter",which moves on a guide in the room.The communications is through a IR link. The master PLC communicates with the slave , giving it a stage to carry out.There is no way of debuging through this link.
2. The machine has been running since 1995 without any problems. This is the first time we have had to use the laptop in the sterile room.
3.Regular maintenance is carried out when there is no production in the room,but always before the weekly cleaning and sanitation.
Clean room maintenance is a pain in the butt.
Steve.

 

[danw]

If your are talking CLASS III, then you can spray the unit down with Alcohol or a mix of WFI and Isolpropyl alcohol. (Turn the unit off first).
It makes NO SENSE to wrap it in a bag.

If you've ever seen the stuff that collects under the keys of a well-used PC keyboard, a case could be made for wrapping a keyboard in a plastic baggie for either particulate or sterile environments. A wipe down won't touch stuff under the keys. A fall to the floor could dislodge and eject such detritus.

Granted there are heat related problems with PCs, but I can understand a prohibition of open keyboards in clean room environments.

Dan

 

[davidg68124]

THis sounds like a TCar from BOC Edwards. Is it? Or something from BOC? I would be interested in private discussions about it with your thoughts about it.



David