A Smarter Way to Use Cleanroom Pass-Throughs

You install a pass-through chamber to reduce cross-contamination between classified and unclassified areas, but what if your pass-through could do more? Terra Universal’s double-wall Smart Pass-Through^TM is the first to offer unique, state-of-the-art service alerts and condition-monitoring technology. This translates into time and cost savings, plus increased efficiency. Keep reading to find out more about the ways that the Smart Pass-Through guarantees the cleanliness you’re paying for.

Service Chimes

The door status alert chimes are specifically designed to ensure compliance with cleanroom protocol. These notifications indicate when

• The interlock is activated
• A door has been left ajar
• The pass-through is ready for operation
• A sample is waiting to be unloaded

The Smart Pass-Through’s advanced monitoring system ensures the fool-proof transfer of materials. Employees are more productive, no longer compelled to verify if parts, materials, or specimens are waiting for retrieval; the alerts eliminate guesswork by monitoring the pass-through for you! Two alert units are included on the Smart Pass-Through and additional plug-in alert chimes can be installed wirelessly up to 200 feet away.

Indicator Light

An indicator light on the outside of each door coincides with the service alerts to notify personnel of the following conditions:

• The light glows solid when doors are closed and the pass-through is ready to operate.
• A flashing light indicates if either of the doors is open and the interlock is active, preventing damage that results when operators attempt to force an interlocked door.
• The flashing will increase in frequency if either door remains open for longer than 30 seconds. This delay time is adjustable.

As an additional accessory, an indicator-panel display provides status alerts, operational messages, and environmental data. In this way, internal conditions are monitored making the Smart Pass-Through an even more efficient transfer hatch.

Security and Traceability

The optional bar-code scanner provides inventory management of all items as they enter or exit the Smart Pass-Through. Remote data logging includes an output for integration into a centralized Building Management System. Data from user badges, time, duration, and product(s) scanned for entry or removal are transferred directly into the control system.

The Smart Pass-Through also ensures access security and traceability–ideal for use in pharmacies and other locations with controlled samples. Wireless door locks prevent access by unauthorized personnel. In the event of an emergency, the door can be remotely sealed. For more secure access prevention, a biometric scanner can be installed to activate or release door locks. Iris or fingerprint readers can also be integrated with the data logger for traceability.

Cleanliness

The double-wall stainless steel construction contains an electronic interlock confined to an internal chamber, eliminating hard-to-clean hardware. What’s left is a smooth, featureless wall for easy sterilization in aseptic environments. Radius corners do away with hard-to-clean crevices or lips and electropolishing removes metal impurities from the surface that can damage metal. This stainless steel treatment produces a smooth surface, free from burrs and gaps where particles can hide. All of these features are ideal for your strict cleanliness protocol. Click here for more information on electropolishing.

A hands-free automatic swing door decreases the risk of particle transmission between surfaces and personnel—the motion-sensitive, no-touch option opens the chamber door with the wave of a hand! Hands-free operation makes these systems ideal for cGMP and other regulated environments requiring sterile surfaces.

Efficiency

Pass-throughs not only sufficiently preserve cleanliness during the maneuvering of sensitive materials between controlled environments, but they do so in time- and cost-efficient ways. For example, the reduction of personnel foot traffic keeps particle counts down to improve cleanliness, and reduces costs associated with garment stocking levels and laundry. With fewer people entering the cleanroom, man hours associated with donning and doffing garments will decrease, improving your bottom line.

Another cost savings? Between-room doors jeopardize the pressure balance across controlled spaces and are expensive to install. The relatively small volume of air within the Smart Pass-Through helps to maintain stable pressure differentials required between zones leading to a reduction in facility expenses.

To accommodate additional accessories and improve overall system efficiency, the Smart Pass-Through contains a centralized power distribution unit; the Smart Control Module provides a simplified, clutter-free way to sustain and manage electrical connections.

When cleanliness, efficiency, and security are critical concerns, cleanroom pass-throughs become a necessity. The Smart Pass-Through’s enhanced alert and control system further enhances clean, secure material transfer and data logging while maintaining optimum cleanliness. What more could you ask for?

Click here for more information on the Smart Pass-Through Double Wall Chamber.