Volume XXII, Issue 4 - September 2025

Working with your cleaning process team does not have to be like herding cats. Process Teams can be fun and productive.

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"You and Ed are ageless with a wealth of knowledge and expertise with the ability to teach and train. So many people lack the communication skills that you and Ed have. In addition to educating clients on product cleaning you could educate them on the power of effective communications."

Jean Mozolic, Plasma Technology, Inc.


Feature Article

New Cleaning Equipment Part 2 – Begin the Quest

Barbara Kanegsberg and Ed Kanegsberg, BFK Solutions

It’s time to purchase new cleaning equipment; and (lucky you!), you are in charge. Think of the quest as an adventure that can increase manufacturing productivity and enhance your career options. Cleaning equipment alone does not guarantee good surface prep or critical cleaning that meets cleanliness requirement. Equipment design is important; cleaning PROCESS design is critical. Successful purchases of cleaning equipment involves coordinating the cleaning agent (chemicals) with the cleaning equipment. This coordination involves education, including learning about cleaning. Educate yourself. Read up about cleaning. Read the Clean Source newsletters. Browse online for preliminary “equipment shopping,” Attend trade shows; Check out the Product Quality Cleaning Workshops (PQCW) in-person workshops as well as PQCW on-line, on-demand webinars and You-Tube clips. Look over product literature, vendor claims, and commercial vendor-sponsored white papers. Check out the latest from our ever-evolving safety/environment regulatory requirements. Be aware of local and global politics that might impact equipment costs and the timeline for build. Become aware of local, regional, and national regulations that could restrict certain cleaning agents. A picture of cleaning process wants and requirements will form in your mind Then, assemble the cleaning team.

Assemble the cleaning team.

Really? Yes, really. This means you! Your first thoughts may be “I don’t wanna do it. I don’t have to do it. Fuhgeddaboudit!” You may think that the team approach is a waste of time and money, or that you know manufacturing well enough to make the decision without help. Can sales reps take care of everything? While sales reps can provide valuable information, they are ultimately there to sell their chemicals or equipment. We’ve been changing and improving cleaning processes for over three decades; we find that cleaning requirements are site-specific, cleanliness requirement specific, and application specific. We respectfully suggest that you do not have all the skill sets and knowledge to select the best cleaning equipment and the most cost-effective cleaning process. Furthermore, a cleaning process that is imposed using “command and control” tactics is likely to fail outright, and/or the process may be ignored or abandoned.

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

In Person, in Atlanta: ASTM Workshop - Residue on Medical Devices

Co-chairs Alpa Patel and Kaumudi Kulkarni, and Barb Kanegsberg urge you to attend this crucial one-day, in person workshop. ASTM “Workshop on Assessing Characteristics of Cleaning Agents Intended to Clean Medical Devices” on November 11, Atlanta GA. Unacceptable residue on medical devices can mean product failure, and failure is not an option for medical devices. Learn the latest developments in assure the reliability of cleaning processes. There are 14 excellent presentations covering cleaning agents, cleaning techniques, analytical approaches, and tools to determine when trouble might be brewing. Bring your ideas; participate! Be part of the future of reliable medical devices.

Access the technical program.


Worker Safety, Manufacturing, and Goundhog Day

Ed and Barb recently suggested refinements to the EPA final rule for perchloroethylene. We indicated that an 8-hour exposure of 0.14 ppm is not clearly or convincingly supported nor is it in line with exposure levels developed by respected professional organizations and government agencies. We suggested approaches to support worker safety and promote holistic, sustainable manufacturing growth. We also expressed our frustration and concern that manufacturers feel like they are part of the iconic movie “Groundhog Day, where effective chemical after effective chemical after effective chemical is discontinued or banned by regulators – we sure feel that way! We think that the approach of attacking chemical after chemical can harm workers, the environment, and industry. Other approaches are needed.

Here’s a link to our comments, including a summary and downloadable file.

There’s a wealth of fascinating information in the EPA dockets. For example, here’s the link to the comments regarding perchloroethylene, listed in reverse chronological order (most recent at the top). Look at the comments as well as the commenters and their affiliation.

View Perchloroethylene Comments


BFK Solutions. – independent consultants and practical educators

Our decades of experience help you make productive decisions about your cleaning processes, your manufacturing processes, your business. Contact Ed and Barbara Kanegsberg with concerns about cleaning, surface quality, regulatory issues - we’ll get back to you and discuss your cleaning issue, whether or not we do a project together! Suggest a topic – we may write about it! 

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