Contamination control is crucial in highly sensitive manufacturing industries, such as semiconductor, lithium-ion battery manufacturing, aerospace, and advanced fabrication. Any level of contamination can compromise product integrity, resulting in expensive production errors.
Humans shed about 140,000 skin cells per minute. If uncontained, these cells can impact sensitive manufacturing processes, causing issues such as micro-shorts and affecting ionic conductivity in lithium-ion battery manufacturing.
Bioburden from humans, including cells, exhaled particles and hair, is the largest source of contamination in cleanroom environments. If left unmanaged, this can lead to long-term degradation or failure. As a result, there is an urgent need for improved personal protective equipment (PPE), capable of safeguarding both workers and consumers.
Introducing Head-to-Toe Protection by PIP Global Safety
The worldwide cleanroom technology market is expected to increase from $7.4 billion in 2021 to over $10.8 billion by 2026. As a result, companies are adopting advanced equipment and innovative practices. However, to remain competitive and sustain high-quality production, these companies also require enhanced performance from their manufacturing workflows.
PIP Global Safety (PIP) provides a completely controlled environment catalog, including a wide variety of cleanroom safety products, helping companies maintain the highest standards of contamination control.
Full-coverage PPE solutions include customizable, ISO-rated cleanroom garments, cleanroom face masks, ISO-rated multi-hazard gloves and finger cots, and cleanroom-ready supplies such as wipers, swabs, documentation products, and tacky mats.
Image Credit: Protective Industrial Products, Inc.
Cleanroom Garments: Cleanroom Garments are essential for the prevention of particle transfer from workers to products. PIP provides a broad range of customizable, ISO-rated garment configurations made from proprietary fabrics, including hoods, coveralls and boots to maintain cleanroom standards.2
Multi-Hazard Gloves and Finger Cots: As many as 30% of hand injuries are the result of improper fit, wear or inappropriate gloves. PIP QRP® ISO-rated cleanroom gloves and finger cots are able to protect environment integrity as well as hazards to workers, such as contact with molten metals, cryogenic liquids and other chemicals.
Filtered Face Masks: Filtered face masks are certified for cleanrooms with an ISO 4 through 6 rating and are vital for protection from respiratory droplets, exhaled particles and other bioburden. Features including high bacterial filtration efficiency and an adjustable nosepiece enable these masks to effectively contain contaminants2
Cleanroom Supplies: Constant clean-up and documentation is a must in cleanrooms. However, even items such as paper, pens and cleaning products present a real risk of contamination. ISO-rated supplies from PIP CleanTeam®, including paper, pens, swabs, and wipers, enable workers to clean and document without compromising environmental integrity.
Maximizing Performance and Comfort: Strict control of humidity, temperature, and pressure, as well as carefully designed airflow patterns to prevent particle migration, are required in cleanrooms. While being ideal for product production, these conditions can be uncomfortable to work in. A recent study concluded that cleanroom workers endure elevated stress levels, with many reporting severe to extremely severe pain and discomfort, attributed in large part to musculoskeletal problems and ergonomic challenges.4
Image Credit: Protective Industrial Products, Inc.
PPE from PIP Global Safety is designed using proprietary fabrics and polymers that are form-flexible and ergonomic, allowing products to be customized for freer movement. This enables wearers to perform precise tasks over extended periods and reduces the likelihood of fatigue, allowing duties to be conducted without sacrificing work quality.2
Conclusions
In settings where product integrity and worker safety are essential, the adoption of the correct PPE solutions is vital. Investing in high-performance, ISO-rated cleanroom PPE allows manufacturers to enhance operational efficiency, minimize contamination risks and meet strict quality control standards.
PIP Global Safety provides an extensive portfolio of PPE to meet the needs of many controlled environments, allowing businesses to stay ahead of the curve while prioritizing worker wellbeing, product quality and consumer safety.
Image Credit: Protective Industrial Products, Inc.
References and Further Reading
- Liu, F. and Hutchinson, R. (2024). Visible particles in parenteral drug products: A review of current safety assessment practice. Current Research in Toxicology, 7, pp.100175–100175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crtox.2024.100175.
- Protective Industrial Products (2025). Essential Controlled Environment PPE Solutions. (online) Protective Industrial Products. Available at: https://us.pipglobal.com/en/industries/controlled-environment/.
- Khazhinsky, M.G. (2014). Protecting against electrostatic discharge (ESD) in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits (ICs) manufactured using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) Technology, pp.243–271. https://doi.org/10.1533/9780857099259.1.243.
- Aljehani, S.M. and Baig, R.A. (2024). Human Factors and Behavioral Aspects of Cleanroom Safety. Open Journal of Safety Science and Technology, 14(03), pp.29–39. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojsst.2024.143003.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Protective Industrial Products, Inc.
For more information on this source, please visit Protective Industrial Products, Inc.