Contamination control guidelines for datacom environments
US-based Data Clean Corporation, which offers controlled environment cleaning and maintenance services to datacom environments, cleanrooms and laboratories, has set out guidelines aimed at educating IT and network administrators about contamination control in datacom environments. The guidelines are relevant to data centres, server rooms, telecom facilities and other environments with sensitive electronics.
AS computer components get smaller, they become more susceptible to failures caused by contamination. Common dust and dirt can accumulate on circuitry and cause short circuits, overheating and other problems. Contamination-related failures can lead to downtime and ultimately lost revenue.
Following some basic guidelines will help prevent contamination bit errors, packet loss and failures, says the company. To protect equipment, it suggest companies should establish guidelines for all staff and visitors to follow. Any contamination prevention initiative should outline activities that are not acceptable for a given environment.
Among its suggested protocols are:
No food or drink allowed;
No unpacking or uncrating of equipment or other items. A staging area outside the environment should be provided for this activity;
No storage of cardboard, wood or paper-based products. These items easily shed large amounts of contamination;
No propping open of doors that lead to non-datacom environment areas;
Do not allow any work to take place in datacom environment until the environ-mental impact of the work is known and approved;
Tools and materials brought into the room by vendors or employees should be reasonably clean and contaminant-free;
Limit access to the datacom environment: unnecessary personnel can add to contamination levels;
Place contamination control mats at all entrances to the datacom environment;
Maintain positive air pressure in the datacom environment relative to surrounding areas;
Clean top of floor surfaces quarterly;
Clean equipment and environmental surfaces quarterly;
Clean underfloor plenum at least once a year;
Maintain a consistent cleaning schedule;
Increase cleaning frequency during construction or other contamination producing events.