RION-ENG-vol7

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8Particle counters are high-perfor-mance instruments that detect and measure dust and dirt as small as 0.1 micrometers (1/10,000 of a millimeter). They are used in spaces in which the air must be maintained to specific levels of cleanliness. These include clean rooms, hospital operating rooms, and the cul-ture rooms essential for regenerative medicine.Semiconductors are manufactured in clean rooms because contamination of chips by dust causes malfunctions. The need for particle counters has expanded in proportion to the demand for semiconductors.Because particle counters are em p-loyed in severe environments where malfunctions are not tolerated, they require periodic maintenance and cali-bration, a process to confirm that the measuring instruments are working properly and providing correct mea-surement values. Calibration typically involves bringing the instrument to a dedicated calibration room at the office. But in cases involving special requests, the staff travel to the site to perform on-site calibration.According to Kazunari Karaki and Ryo Igarashi, particle counter engineers belonging to Rion Service Center, the very first time they did an on-site cali-bration was in response to a request from a culture room at a university hos-pital researching regenerative medicine. An inspection known as a validation is periodically performed on equipment inside the culture room to ensure safety. The hospital staff wanted to have the measuring instruments calibrated during their validation period. The con-ventional method would have taken several weeks to complete, so Karaki and Igarashi decided to go to the site and perform the calibration work there. Similar requests were arriving from other companies. So Rion Service Cen-ter decided to make on-site calibration an official service in 2017.Karaki and Igarashi are a tag-team of field engineers responsible for all on-site calibration work. They have worked together since the on-site cali-bration service was first made available. Last year, another individual joined the team, and now the three work together to provide the on-site calibration ser-vices for particle counters.Another area in which field engi-neers come into play is the installation and startup of new multipoint measure-ment systems and responding to mal-functions. Multipoint measuring sys-tems perform particle count measure-ments at multiple points. These systems fall into two categories: sensor multi-point systems and tube multipoint sys-tems. The former are often used by pharmaceutical companies, which require 24-hour cleanliness monitor-ing. The latter are often used in semi-conductor factories that have large premises. In either case, the installation of a new multipoint measurement sys-tem requires field engineers to be on-hand to determine the layout appro-priate for the site.Schematic illustration of multipoint measurement systemMultipoint measurement systems measure air cleanliness at multiple points inside a clean room. They enable central management from a monitoring room. Designing these systems requires knowledge and experience in architectural and facility design, in addition to familiarity with technology related to equipment placement, piping, and rack storage of monitors.Tasks performed inside a clean roomWorkers are required to wear clean suits, masks, and goggles inside clean rooms to prevent the generation of dust from human skin and hair. After use, the cloth­ing and equipment are cleaned by a spe­cialized contractor to ensure dustproof performance.Equipment inside the clean roomField engineers always bring with them clean suits, safety belts, and helmets to wear as shown above. This is the standard gear for work at industrial sites.On-site calibration born from the needs for regenerative medicine requiring minimal downtime