This is the second and final act of an article published several years ago on unforgettable clean manufacturing stories. Contributors were Ken Goldstein, Lise Laurin, Scott Mackler, and myself. The article was originated and edited by Dorothy Rosa, then Editor-in-Chief of A2C2 Magazine (later renamed Controlled Environments).

As promised in the last issue, these bloopers star plywood, canaries, monkey wrenches, and more.

OUT, DAMNED SPOT!
We were inspecting the assembly and installation of our company’s stick-built ceiling system in a world-class semiconductor wafer fab. The ceiling components had been wiped down and packaged under clean conditions in our factory. The assembly was to take place under the very strictest of clean construction protocols, which included full gowning and airlock entry into the area under construction.

As I entered, I was detained by the CCP (Clean Construction Police), who insisted on wiping down even the top rim of my eyeglasses so that I would carry absolutely no dust into the room.

Once inside, we noticed dust particles on the ceiling components lying about on jig tables. Soon, we learned that the floor of the fab had been covered with ordinary forms-grade plywood to protect it during construction. Every time somebody stepped on it, dust particles would be released into the air. (The fab was under positive pressure at this point as well.)

Still, the fab was completed in record time, and performed according to specification. Protocols were not revised to reflect the additional requirement for particulate preloading imposed by the use of construction grade plywood as cleanroom floor protection.