Global supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic left controlled environment operations scrambling for cleanroom products, especially gloves. The spike in demand for PPE gloves spilled over to limit the availability and quality of cleanroom gloves. In some cases, manufacturers switched production from cleanroom gloves to PPE gloves to fulfill demand, leaving cleanroom glove supplies short. In other cases, opportunistic manufacturers entered the market without prior cleanroom experience, leading to a flood of non-compliant cleanroom gloves in the market.
[Part 2 - Reducing Negative Impact to Yield: Independent/Repeatable Testing]
Prepare now with equivalency testing of a secondary supplier’s products.
It’s only a question of when labor shortages, raw material issues, geopolitical uncertainties, environmental disasters, or the next pandemic will cause global supply disruptions again. Now is the time to make sure your supply of critical products is secure by selecting a secondary supplier and performing repeatable, standardized tests to verify their products are equivalent (or better) to your primary supplier’s products.
Equivalency testing in 3 steps.
As part of your secondary supplier evaluation, here are the steps for product testing to verify it will perform similarly to your existing supplier’s product:
Obtain samples from the current supply from your incumbent manufacturer
Contact any trusted independent testing provider for standardized and repeatable test services that follow recognized testing methods relevant to the specific product.
If you are evaluating Valutek products, our technical product experts can walk you through recommended tests needed to assess product equivalency between multiple manufacturers.
Additionally, we can offer independent testing services to reduce risks and costs by preventing nonconforming supplies from entering your cleanroom and workflow.
Time and cost-saving benefits of independent testing.
Cleanroom products vary in application, and so do their specifications. Gloves, masks, and apparel create barriers to protect products and processes from contamination from the operator. Testing these items covers a broad range of properties around cleanliness and durability.
Wipers and mats absorb and collect to remove contamination with testing focused on properties of cleanliness and absorbency. In controlled environments that handle sensitive electronics such as semiconductors or in chemical manufacturing, cleanroom products might have requirements to prevent electrostatic discharge that can damage components and testing related to electrical resistance.
Many organizations do not have in-house equipment or the resources to perform the necessary range of tests following industry-accepted and standardized testing practices to verify product compliance. Even if an organization has the capability and competency, internal testing can be subject to influence or bias from different departmental stakeholders. The cost of introducing non-compliant products to your controlled environment in terms of lost yields, rework, recalls or regulatory violations is exponentially higher than the investment in objective and accurate testing.
Testing product equivalency is an important part of qualifying a secondary source.
Comparing product equivalency is just one of a several-step process to qualify a secondary supplier. For risk reduction, it’s imperative to be ahead of the curve and prepared with options. Whether Valutek is your primary, secondary, or alternate supplier, let us be a technical resource in driving product equivalency through independent, standardized, and repeatable product testing.
Valutek is one of the first and few manufacturers to offer a full product portfolio of best-in-class cleanroom products. Since 1988, our controlled environment consumables are helping leading organizations operate their cleanrooms in a consistently stable state.
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