by John Hobson, Director of Sales, CleanSpace Division, Nortek Air Solutions
With over 89% of construction firms challenged with hiring skilled labor in 2023, many initiatives are underway to develop talent in a depleted field. While the industry works to attract talent, firms are looking for new solutions to keep projects on time and deliver for customers in complex spaces. As cleanroom construction tries to keep pace with growing demand in semiconductor, life sciences, medical devices, and battery manufacturing, an emerging trend of off-site manufacturing (OSM) is a strong solution to nationwide labor shortages.
The Evolution of Cleanroom Construction
Cleanroom construction has historically been a labor-intensive endeavor, with ceiling grid installation representing a significant portion of both time and resources. Traditionally, on-site construction involves multiple steps, including measurements, cutting, assembly, and installation—all conducted within the confines of the cleanroom environment.
This method can pose several challenges:
Time Constraints: On-site construction can be subject to delays due to various factors, including weather conditions, material availability, and manpower issues. These delays not only extend project timelines but also increase costs.
Precision and Quality: Achieving precise measurements and ensuring consistent quality amidst on-site construction can be challenging. Even minor discrepancies in dimensions or material quality can compromise the integrity of the cleanroom environment and require future adjustments to get the cleanroom functioning at the appropriate class level.
Waste and Environmental Impact: On-site construction can generate significant waste, including excess materials, packaging, and debris.
The Rise of Offsite Manufacturing
In response to these challenges, offsite manufacturing—or modular construction—has emerged as a popular approach to cleanroom ceiling grid projects. Offsite manufacturing involves the prefabrication of components in a controlled factory environment, followed by assembly and installation at the construction site.
Key elements of offsite manufacturing include:
Precision Engineering: Offsite manufacturing facilities utilize advanced technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) Revit design, and automated machinery to ensure precise measurements and high-quality fabrication. This precision minimizes errors and ensures consistency across all components.
Streamlined Production: By centralizing production in a dedicated facility, offsite manufacturing eliminates the inefficiencies associated with on-site construction. Workflow optimization, standardized processes, and just-in-time delivery mechanisms enhance productivity and minimize project timelines.
Quality Assurance: Offsite manufacturing allows for strict quality control protocols, including regular inspections and testing procedures by experts that are familiar with cleanroom design and manufacturing. This commitment to quality ensures that prefabricated components meet or exceed industry standards, reducing the risk of defects or structural issues that may occur with onsite manufacturing.
Sustainability: Offsite manufacturing promotes sustainability by minimizing waste generation and reducing carbon emissions associated with transportation. By optimizing material usage and recycling processes, modular construction contributes to environmental conservation efforts.
The Benefits of Offsite Manufacturing for Cleanroom Owners
Advanced cleanroom ceiling systems represent complex architectural design, and their proper construction requires strategic partners that can deliver the right solution. Modular ceiling grids, like the Clean-Trak and Flex-Trak Hybrid designs, support an off-site manufacturing model. They are fully assembled at the factory and delivered complete, ready to be installed, reducing the need for more fabrication and intensive onsite labor. These modules are designed to be compatible with the cleanroom's layout, requirements, and provide:
Faster Speed of Installation: Modular ceiling grids are known for their rapid installation process, as most components are welded or bolted at the factory and ready for assembly on-site. This can significantly reduce construction timelines, minimizing downtime during cleanroom setup or renovations.
Precision and Consistency: Since modular components are factory-made, they tend to have higher precision and consistency in terms of measurements and quality, resulting in a more predictable cleanroom environment.
Customized Components: Although modular systems are standardized, they often offer customization options to accommodate specific cleanroom requirements, such as wiring, lighting, fire protection, and enhanced walkability.
How an Industry Leading Semiconductor Player Leveraged OSM
When one of the top producing semiconductor players was evaluating a full facility renovation in New Mexico, the player faced significant challenges in getting a decommissioned building up to cleanroom standards, increase cleanroom size, functionality and adding Automated Material Handling Systems (AMHS), all while attempting to avoid a full demolition. To accomplish this, the industry leader turned to Nortek Air Solutions to help repurpose and retrofit the space as a Class 1000/ISO 6 cleanroom, with a goal of maintaining an 18-month timeframe and keeping the project within budget paraments.
To successfully hit the goal, the facility needed a complete overhaul of the cleanroom spaces, expansion in size, and to incorporate Automated Material Handling Systems (AMHS), which would add additional load requirements to the existing structure. In a retrofit of this size, leveraging design resources, like Building Information Modeling (BIM) Revit design services, ensures that there are seamless integrations into the existing structure and that all future load requirements and functionality are addressed.
Solving for these obstacles, meant incorporating cleanroom ceiling design concepts that used multiple types of offsite assembled grids and plenums into existing spaces. Because the facility was undergoing significant retrofitting, offsite manufacturing allowed the ceiling grids and plenums to be constructed to the schedule, without taking up valuable square footage in the facility. Through offsite manufacturing, the ceiling grids and plenum modules are preassembled with integrated lighting and fire protection hardware, further reducing any quality concerns during installation.
Once the ceiling grids and plenum modules arrived at the facility, they were lifted into place easier and faster as compared to assembling the ceiling system on location. This ISO 6 cleanroom required an amount of recirculated air to reliably maintain the level of specified air cleanliness, and the amount of recirculation in the original facility plan could not meet that level. To address the recirculation requirement, custom fan-driven Forced Return Air Chimneys (FRAC) were installed. Typical FRACs are between four feet and six feet in length. But with this facility, over 700 16-foot long FRACs were needed, with all structural framework assembled offsite. The amount of labor and space needed to assemble onsite would have pushed the project off its 18-month timeline and added significant installation complexity at the facility. Through OSM, the project saved time, reduced the workforce needed, and saved on installation cost.
In total, this retrofitted cleanroom reached 130,000 square feet of cleanroom ceiling system. By leveraging offsite manufacturing to deliver these critical performance components, complexity at the facility was reduced and saved a considerable amount of time and expense when compared to the alternative of a complete greenfield project.
The Measurable Value of Offsite Manufacturing
As offsite manufacturing capabilities are evaluated, it’s worth noting that in a third-party independent study commissioned by Nortek Air Solutions CleanSpace, data confirmed:
48% reduction in additional structural steel cost, and assembly of it, with modular and hybrid options compared to onsite assembled stick-built ceiling design.
Field Labor Cost-Efficiency: Modular ceilings are easier and faster for onsite teams to install, leading to an estimated 25% reduction in total labor hours at the construction site compared to stick-built ceiling design.
What Cleanroom Owners Should Expect from Partners That Deliver Offsite Manufacturing
When opting for offsite manufacturing for cleanroom ceiling grid projects, owners should expect a seamless and collaborative process, including:
Consultation and Design: Collaborative consultation between cleanroom owners, architects, engineers, and manufacturing partners is essential to define project requirements and design specifications. Ask your potential manufacture partners if they can provide Building Information Modeling (BIM) Revit design to ensure a seamless integration of all components of the retrofit, ensuring the project addresses all partner and product solutions.
Production and Fabrication: Once design specifications are finalized, manufacturing partners begin offsite manufacturing and fabrication of prefabricated components. Utilizing advanced technologies and industry best practices, your partners will ensure precision engineering and adherence to quality standards throughout the manufacturing process.
Logistics and Delivery: Upon completion, prefabricated components are carefully packaged and transported to the construction site. Your manufacturing partners will work closely with onsite crews to ensure timely delivery and seamless integration into the cleanroom environment.
Installation and Commissioning: With prefabricated components in hand, construction crews proceed with installation and commissioning activities. Your general contractor or installing contractor will oversee the assembly process, ensuring proper alignment, integration with existing infrastructure, and compliance with safety protocols and regulatory requirements.
Post-Installation and Support: Following installation, your manufacturing partner is a resource for post-installation support, including maintenance services, performance monitoring, and troubleshooting assistance. This ongoing partnership ensures the long-term reliability and performance of the cleanroom ceiling grid system.
With an additional 3,620 skilled labor jobs needed for every $1 billion in new construction, the labor shortage will continue to create challenges in project timelines and a lack of expertise. As cleanrooms navigate solutions and partners for delivering the right cleanroom ceiling solutions, OSM should be a major factor in your conversations.
About the author: With over 30 years of experience in the cleanroom manufacturing industry, John Hobson works closely with cleanroom teams to identify the best HVAC solutions for their project needs. In his current role as director of sales at Nortek Air Solutions CleanSpace, John partners with general contractors, engineers, and customer stakeholders to deliver fanatical focus on the project needs from initial conversation to post-installation and beyond. Through his 30 years of experience, John leverages the voice of the customer to help inform product solutions and work collaboratively with the Nortek CleanSpace team to innovate on product, performance, and meet industry gaps.