ISO Class 8 Cleanroom Upgrade

IMEG provided mechanical and electrical design services for an ISO Class 8 plasma fractionation cleanroom upgrade. The building, constructed in the 1950s, includes two open levels with exposed structure throughout. The upgrade included:

• Removing and recoating all exposed concrete and steel with epoxy
• Replacing all existing conduit, fittings, and devices with stainless steel for Division 2 (explosion proof) compliance
• Providing LED lighting throughout
• Removing and replacing painted sprinkler piping with stainless steel
• Removing and replacing all piping and conduit hangers with new stainless-steel hangers

The age of the building, and modifications made over the years, meant there were no drawings showing the existing conduit or piping systems in the space. Engineers used a laser scanner to create a “point cloud” of the entire cleanroom interior to trace all conduit and piping within the cleanroom in 3D with Revit software.

Challenges during design included:

• The 23° F room created uncomfortable working conditions
• Tight time constraints to keep production running
• Additional equipment needed to mount rooftop dehumidifiers for moisture removal so new epoxy coating met warranty requirements
• Replacement of 25 existing conduit systems required tracing and tagging of each system to facilitate the design which involved weeks of electricians opening junction boxes verifying wiring sizes and types before tagging each segment of conduit junction box to junction box
• Other contractors working in same space during shutdowns

IMEG worked closely with the owner, operations team, and contractor to complete the complex and detailed design so the construction team was able to work efficiently within each shutdown period.