There’s nothing like getting out and seeing a cleaning machine with your own eyes. The reason is that engineering, chemistry, and critical cleaning are sciences. Science involves both calculation and astute observation. In the previous installment of The Quest for New Cleaning Equipment, we discussed exercising your own inherent powers of observation to determine what is being offered in terms of hardware, software, experience and technical expertise. Site visits to the cleaning equipment supplier also help to identify cleaning equipment providers who will be more than a vendor – they will be a supplier/partner. For significant capital investments and for applications where the product should be considered “safety/critical,” visiting the equipment supplier is essential. However, site visits are costly and may not be in the budget. If the cleaning machine is a custom design, the cleaning equipment you anticipate purchasing may not be available for demonstration. In addition, the cleaning equipment on the showroom floor may not be subject to the same stresses as in the manufacturing facility.
This episode describes multiple ways to observe new cleaning machines, to see if the cleaning process and the cleaning supplier will be a good fit. These approaches can be used alone, or, even better, in combination. Because the cleaning process includes the cleaning equipment and the cleaning agent, we include ways to explore how the cleaning machine supplier works with various cleaning formulations – do they “push” their own brand? We also help you determine if the cleaning equipment supplier helps you minimize chemical use.
Multiple options; multiple bids
We think it’s important to make a decision on the best cleaning equipment and to do so in a timely manner. However, that does not mean you should choose a single equipment supplier without considering the options. We encourage our clients to look at multiple cleaning process options, including the cleaning agent, the cleaning machine, and the cleaning process. This often means getting multiple cost and design estimates. Start with budgetary estimates, estimates that are less detailed than the final bid but that include essential items. A few budgetary estimates can help narrow down the possibilities. This is not based on cost alone. We see instances where the cleaning equipment manufacturer includes items that are essential to a successful process. We also see instances where the supplier simply doesn’t “get” what you need.
Invite the supplier/partner to your facility
Invite the cleaning equipment supplier to visit your manufacturing facility. This can avoid misunderstanding about what you need. Usually, this means a visit from someone in sales. A while back, we talked about the importance of the cleaning team and about key people to be involved. Invite suppliers of promising cleaning equipment to meet the cleaning team in person. If they offer to make a presentation, by all means take advantage of the opportunity. Even if there is more commercialism than is optimal, take advantage of the opportunity to learn; and to let your team ask questions.
Your visitor is often a sales rep or sales engineer. A great rep will want to get to know your manufacturing requirement, to understand how the equipment will fit in your facility. This includes factors like the physical layout of the facility, the people involved in cleaning, and the design and materials of construction of the part of component. The team member from your facilities group may ask about sizing, ventilation, electrical requirements, water usage, and humidity control. Your visitor may not have all the answers, because cleaning equipment is often very specialized and specific design. However, the representative should have a basic understanding of the type of cleaning machine your facility needs. Introduce them to the assemblers, the techs (yes, they have to be represented on your cleaning team. One large cleaning machine may seem to be efficient; but if the techs are spending half their day schlepping parts around the facility, it may not be the most cost-effective or practical answer. Your vising rep may suggest other approaches. Ask the rep about permitting and regulatory issues; cleaning team members with expertise in employee safety and environmental issues can be a great help in eliciting the overall understanding of your visitor. Some reps are aware of current and upcoming regulations; others sort of gloss over them, still others may obfuscate the situation to your detriment.
Visit a working installation
Seeing equipment in the showroom is very different than looking at what happens during every-day, heavy usage. This means obtaining references and following up. If there is a facility using the proposed cleaning equipment, contact them. Talk to them. Ask for permission to see the facility. If this is not possible due to geographical constraints or company intellectual property issues, try to find out as much as possible without being overly inquisitive.
If you can arrange a site visit, either in person or virtually, take them up on their offer. Are they actually using the cleaning equipment? We have seen too many instances where a manufacturer has purchased new cleaning equipment, but it was never fully implemented. Is the cleaning machine actually doing the job or are they augmenting the new cleaning process with patchwork manual cleaning? Ask if they pre-clean or post-clean. If either or both activities are the norm, the cleaning process may not be doing the job. Is the cleaning equipment similar to what you want to buy? How is it going for the people actually running the process? Observe: look, listen. How does the equipment look? How is it holding up under day to day operation? Is it corroding? Is it leaking? We’ve seen techs standing in puddles; no one thought much of it because the cleaning equipment leaked on a regular basis. The techs considered the situation normal. Clearly, leaking cleaning equipment is not normal. Are the techs and assemblers pleased with the cleaning system? If the techs and assemblers don’t like the cleaning machine, attempt to find out why.
What if you can’t do a site visit?
For large or strategically important purchases, consider both in-person and virtual visits. In-person visits yield important information but may not be possible due to time, financial, or competition-sensitive issues. In addition to being convenient and cost-effective, a virtual visit has advantages not found in a site visit. A virtual visit gets many of the players in the same room at the same time. On screen, everyone is facing you (and, from their perspective, you are facing everyone). Read the room – specifically, the people in the room! Some people try to escape into anonymity by keeping their camera turned off; you may have to listen carefully to their vocal inflections. If one or more attendees look or sound bored, unconnected, or displeased, ask questions. The supplier/partner representative may make an overly optimistic claim or assertion. The technical people might contest that claim visually and non-verbally.
Supplier/Partner understanding of Cleaning Agents
Absorb the comments of your hosts. Show them the parts to be cleaned. Bring parts; bring photos. Ask them to describe a typical cleaning cycle. Ask them about TACT as it applies to their cleaning machines – that means Temperature, Cleaning Action, Chemistry, and Time. Mechanical engineers may favor a certain equipment design; but it’s essential to consider the interaction of the chemistry with the equipment under expected process conditions. Observations during site visits can yield invaluable information about how much the equipment supplier understands cleaning agents and about their comfort level with the types of cleaning agent your team is considering.
Ask them for their recommendations for cleaning agents and process options. If they offer process testing at their facility, ask what they usually use and the range of options they can offer. Ask if they charge for this service. Some equipment manufacturers may offer their own private label cleaning agents, or they may have formal or informal arrangements with cleaning agent suppliers. They may imply or strongly urge – maybe the right word is push – the use of a particular cleaning agent. Be wary when this happens. What they want to sell you may not be what your team has found to be most effective. The formulation they offer may not meet customer requirements; the product may have not been tested to meet required standards for high value product like aerospace, military, or medical.
An overly-optimistic sales rep may assure you that the cleaning machine can be used with a wide range of cleaning agents. Get confirmation from those who work with the equipment. If your questions are met with a non-committal stare or with a requirement to use only the cleaning agents they themselves offer, be suspicious.
How does the cleaner/supplier minimize chemical use?
It’s not just the cost of new cleaning equipment, it’s the ongoing cost of the process; the cleaning agent is part of ongoing process costs. A great supplier/partner helps to minimize chemical usage. A solvent-based cleaning agent must be redistilled. Look at the distillation system. How does it work? Will the distillation provide enough clean solvent to manage throughput? A great supplier/partner will not just talk about minimizing chemical usage, they will demonstrate it.
For aqueous processes as well as sequential solvent cleaning (co-solvent and bi-solvent processes), look at proposed options to minimize carryover. For aqueous cleaners, carryover into the rinse tank compromises cleaning performance. The rinse tanks may become so contaminated with cleaning agent and process fluids that costly disposal of the rinse tank is required. Can the tanks be monitored? How is this accomplished? Determine if the cleaning equipment can be designed to minimize carryover. Oil-splitting chemistry generally allows longer cleaning agent usage. A weir or sparge can help avoid recontamination of the parts. However, in some instances a resting tank may be needed to allow the oil to come to the top. This means that a portion of the cleaning agent is used in the actual cleaning process while another portion is being regenerated. Observe and ask questions during site visits to the equipment supplier and, if possible, to manufacturing facilities.
You’re getting closer to an excellent decision
Gather the information, sort through it, talk it over with your cleaning team. If the president of your company is strongly encouraging you to make what your team considers to be be an unwise choice, this may be a good time to present a brief tactful synopsis. Stay tuned for more about cleaning equipment, including red flags.
