Building a Modular Cleanroom the Metisafe Way

Turkey’s Metisafe has been transferring its knowledge and expertise on primary air barrier design and production to conceptual modular cleanrooms since the beginning of the 2,000s.

A team of Metisafe experts will be on hand at the Cleanroom Technology Conference 2019 to describe the benefits and advantages of the company’s unique approach to building modular cleanrooms.

Adaptation of Metisafe’s instrument manufacturing line into cleanrooms have been achieved by keeping the following criteria:

• Applying box-in-box design, which is independent of the facility building
• Using low noise high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fan units instead of only HEPA filters
• Integrating optimal airflow patterns of safety cabinets or laminar air flow (LAF) units
• Designing negative plenum wall panels and ceiling
• Using precise machined full steel structure
• Integrating total automation control

With this concept, Metisafe has taken LAF cabinets as the base for its several pre-engineered positive pressured cleanroom models.

Validation guaranteed application-specific models have been operating since 2006 in cell culture labs and non-hazardous sterile compounding units, to name but a few.

Building material

Ex-factory standardised negative pressured biosafety models have been transformed from biological safety cabinets (BSC). Tuberculosis labs, virology labs, hazardous drug compounding, BSL-2 and BSL-3 facilities have been running without reconstruction needs of units.

Usage of the sheet steel material in cleanroom components makes it possible to build stronger free-standing structure and leak-proof panel connections. Manufacturing of mono-block and corner radiused wall panels are the other advantages of steel material.

Negative plenum technology

Metisafe uses negative plenum technology in all of its designs as default. Pre-engineered recirculation ducts and leak-proof ceilings provide increased particle sweeping efficiency and energy saving.

Particle leakage from surroundings through increased pressured ducts of the building is also prevented by using this method. Achievement of more homogenous temperature distribution by the help of negative plenum increases airflow pattern safety and personnel conformity while operations are in progress inside.

In general, traditional cleanrooms are designed as building dependent and construction based. The Metisafe cleanroom concept, however, is designed as an individual operating instrument.

By using standard equipment and dimensions, Metisafe is having the advantage of sustainable comfort and performance developments in its designs such as more energy saving methodologies, active noise control applications and automated decontamination.

User-friendly

On the user side, having an instrument concept cleanroom has much more advantages than traditional designs. These benefits include:

Design & manufacturing phase:

• More than 100 models for selection suitable to any empty space
• Cleanroom performance validated more than 30 models without the need for new design qualification
• Minimal installation requirement: Only the power source, chilled water supply and air ducts

Installation and set-up phase:

• Fast assembly at the site. In general, days to a couple of weeks depending size of the model
• Clean and easy assembly and installation at the site without disturbing the other rooms
• Easy commissioning and acceptance because of manufacturing with predefined criteria like a standard instrument

Operation:

• Proven increased cleanroom life without loss of operational performance
• More accurate measuring & warning system for improper operation
• Demounting and reassembling availability by keeping its specifications
• Years of cleanroom performance test success without any reconstruction

Maintenance:

• Defined breakdown rates based on more than ten years of field data
• Optimized cleanroom performance with much lower energy use
• Incompatible low maintenance cost
• Decreased yearly validation costs

Performance and maintenance data of sites in operation for more than 10 years prove that the total investment and operation cost are much lower than conventional cleanroom constructions.

A team of Metisafe experts will be on hand at the Cleanroom Technology Conference 2019. The company is exhibiting on stand E3.