Lilly France and Glaxo SmithKline put floor contamination under the microscope

There is strong empirical evidence backed by exciting new research towards feet and wheels being a major source of contamination in the critical environment. Californian test house, M-Con Technologies, recently reported that that vortices created by personnel and machinery cause floor contamination to rise to operational height. This poses a serious threat to products and processes. Unfortunately, donning booties, gowns and gloves is only 20% successful in dealing with this contamination threat. So what else can industries with critical environments put in place to strengthen their armour in the fight against contamination? Two major pharmaceutical companies, Lilly France and Glaxo Smithkline (UK) have been addressing this issue by examining the success of various flooring products in minimising contamination and keeping any intruding particulate at floor level. Glaxo SmithKline tested a range of Contamination Control mat systems including peel-offs. Amongst the products tested, Dycem polymeric flooring and mat products offered the best reduction in particulate count. This test result was reinforced by independent tests at M-Con Technologies which showed Dycem flooring alone reducing operational height particulate count by 60% thus preventing particles, viable and non-viable from being exposed to the risk of getting into products and or processes. Innovation-driven pharmaceutical corporation Lilly France (Fergersheim facility) tested Dycem flooring over a period of two weeks. The result was a dramatic reduction in particulate count. Monsieur Claude Muller, expert trainer in Techniques Aseptiques at Lilly France, commented that Dycem flooring also reduced cleanroom cleaning costs as well as particulate levels. The tests were so successful that Dycem's Clean Zone and Work Zone flooring systems have since been installed outside a number of controlled environments at the facility. Dycem's MD, Mark Dalziel says that more and more companies are turning to Dycem to tackle the important issue of floor contamination and to strengthen their quality control programmes. Mark also points out that companies are saving money, too, as the products have an effective life span of three to four years. An independent study by the University of Bath shows that even after three years of use Dycem's flooring is three times more effective than the peel-off mat system. For a copy of the Glaxo Smith Kline study or The M-Con Technologies study, please email: europe@dycem.com or tel: +44 (0)117 9559921