Old Archives - BFK Solutions LLC

April 2015

Published by Barbara Kanegsberg at April 2015

Procrastination and Critical Cleaning

It was back! The all-too-familiar multi-colored, cycling globe of doom dominated the screen. My lovable old computer and I waited patiently for it to go away. It didn’t. PowerPoint shut down, accompanied by the usual polite but unproductive announcement that it had to quit. “Nooooooo…! It happened again, Ed!” I […]

March 2015

Published by Barbara Kanegsberg at March 2015

Forceful

For better or worse, it is human nature to resort to offensive or defensive force when the going gets tough. In manufacturing, if the soil sticks to the part, there is an automatic reaction to get angry – angry at the soil, angry at the cleaning process, angry at the […]

February 2015

Published by Barbara and Edward Kanegsberg at February 2015

Handling Chemicals Safely

Most manufactured objects require chemicals during build and assembly processes. In nearly all instances, workers handle chemicals. As critical cleaning consultants, we frequently observe chemical use during cleaning operations. We see a wide range of practices when it comes to handling chemicals – some of those practices are problematic. No […]

January 2015

Published by Barbara and Edward Kanegsberg at January 2015

The value of educated employees

Education is essential for your business. Training workers to follow instructions for the cleaning process is not enough. Employees from technicians to supervisors to middle and upper management all need to be educated about critical cleaning. As far as we know, critical cleaning is not taught at the university level. […]

November 2014

Published by Barbara Kanegsberg at November 2014

The Future of Green, Safe, and Sustainable Cleaning

Ask someone involved in manufacturing, particularly a person involved in critical cleaning, about regulatory trends. The responses are apt to be strong and impassioned. Regardless of the portion of the political or environmental spectrum we occupy, we all have strong feelings. Everyone thinks we could be doing a better job […]

October 2014

Published by Ed Kanegsberg at October 2014

Solvency —The Physics of Cleaning, Part 11

A cleaning chemistry is effective due to physical and chemical properties. In the last issue of Clean Source (1), we discussed wetting of surfaces and explained that for a fluid to wet a substrate surface, the surface energy of the substrate needs to be greater than the surface tension of […]

September 2014

Published by Ed Kanegsberg at September 2014

Wetting Surfaces—The Physics of Cleaning, Part 10

Summer may be almost over, but there’s still time for a splash in the pool or at the beach. Afterwards, jump into the shower to rinse off the salt, sand or pool chlorine. For the shower to do its job, however, it needs to wet your skin. This brings to […]

August 2014

Published by Barbara Kanegsberg at August 2014

U.S. EPA Residual Risk – Trichloroethylene and Beyond

Are stronger nation-wide controls on worker exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE) likely in the near-future? Recently, the U.S. EPA held an “Expert Public Workshop on Alternatives and Risk Reduction Approaches to Trichloroethylene (TCE) Use as a Degreaser.” I participated both as an attendee and as a presenter. I suggest that you […]

July 2014

Published by Barbara and Edward Kanegsberg at July 2014

SUR/FIN on a Tsunami

There is a positive “sea change” of growing optimism in the product surface finishing industry. At the recent SUR/FIN conference, rather than the attitude “alas, there’s a whale sitting on me, I’m stuck under water, what can I do?” we heard, “oh!, there’s a whale sitting on me, so I’m […]