Attendance at conferences is valuable.  However, to get everyone on the same page and to make sure that it’s the right page for your application, nothing beats an in-house training or educational program.  An in-house program can be geared to your specific product and processes.  In addition, it is easier to discuss company-specific problems and ideas if your competitors, high-level representatives of key regulatory agencies, and auditors from customers are not grinning at you from across the room. 

Achieving a successful in-house training or education program in critical cleaning and contamination control requires preparation.  Here are some suggestions for getting the right program content for your in-house program.

Educate

Make the program, workshop or seminar an educational one, even if your management is accustomed to training programs.  Sure, you need to have goals; and you need to have dos and don’ts.  You also need to follow applicable specifications and standards.  However, most people are not trained sea lions.  They respond more productively when you acknowledge their brainpower.

Of course, the first step is to educate yourself.

Customize

Even basic courses in critical cleaning and contamination control should be customized to the needs of your employees and to what your company hopes to achieve.  Generic information about cleaning may not resonate with engineers who have immediate product cleaning, contamination and yield issues.

Consider the motivation and goals for setting up an in-house course, the current product line, the future product line, and any safety, regulatory, customer, military or FDA constraints.  Even basic cleaning information can be placed in the context of immediate goals and problems.

Invite the Right People; Build a Team

Who requires education or training in critical cleaning?  You will see more effective results if you educate (or train) all those who can influence or are affected by critical cleaning.  The “guest list” may, in part, be determined by your management.  If you have the option, invite additional key people involved directly with cleaning and contamination control.  Also include those who need to understand the importance of critical cleaning and surface quality to be sure the cleaning is successfully integrated into the full process.  Such related functions can include product design, purchasing, safety/environmental, quality control, and facilities/maintenance.

Provide Key Supply Chain Members with an Understanding of Cleaning & Contamination Control

Think outside the box…even outside the company.  For complex processes, many sub-assemblies and components are purchased.  To achieve tight process control, you need to pin down the chemicals and processes used by the supply chain.  If there are company-sensitive issues, set up an additional program that involves key supply chain members.  The most cost-effective way to get the supply chain on the same page is to involve them in the in-house cleaning course.

Understand the Audience

Who will participate in the course?  For longer courses, it is often a good idea to provide a 30-minute to two-hour introduction and executive overview and then to invite – you guessed it! – executives and managers.  This overview should contain an introduction to cleaning and contamination control and also give a bird’s eye view of the rest of the program.  In addition to allowing managers to understand what their employees will be learning, the introduction provides managers with an opportunity to provide input and suggestions, even if they can’t stay for the entire program.

Ask for Input

Ask for input and clarification before and during the program.  Remember that cleaning and contamination control are complex issues.  Concerns and problems can be company-specific or even department-specific.

You and your co-workers can be invaluable for spotlighting specific problems; and that’s the first step toward a solution.  Ask for photos, because some problems are best illustrated visually.  Incorporate the photos into the presentation.  In addition, data, including testing, failure analysis, defect rate, and trends, can point the way toward what education is needed.  If you are considering a new process, determine what has been tested and the impact of successes and failures.

Even if you know everything about your fabrication process, obtain input for the program.  People are busy, so ask actively.  This may require emails, phone calls, and even walking up to your co-workers and (gasp!) talking to them.

Keep the Program Non-Commercial

Should representatives of cleaning technologies attend and/or participate in the educational program?  The answer is: sometimes, in well-defined areas.  However, to keep all your options open and to allow for very frank open interchange and discussion of all technologies, the program should be conducted by independent experts.  Everyone has built-in biases; and technical representatives can provide very positive contributions, particularly in terms of the technologies they offer.  However, it is reasonable to expect their motivation will be to show how their particular technology can be adapted to your problem, so they can sell product.  Participation by vendors at certain programs or portions of programs may be appropriate.  Utilize their expertise appropriately.

In general, educational and training programs should be conducted by individuals or groups who are independent of specific cleaning agents, cleaning processes, and related technologies.  Stay independent and understand the biases and affiliations of all of your advisors.

Improvise

There will be surprise questions and comments, because it is unlikely for everyone to be on the same page.  Surprises often provide opportunities to solve problems and improve processes.  Understand the options for cleaning and contamination control.  Be prepared to speak extemporaneously.  You may find it handy to have a flip chart or white board to address last-minute questions.