Volume XXI, Issue 3 - March 2024

Celebrating 30 years at BFK Solutions!

Find the root cause of critical product cleaning: Ask “Why?” Ask “What’s that?” For more help, give us a call.

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[The August 2023 Clean Source article, “Why Clean”] “should be the ‘forward’ to every article on cleaning. Thank you … we need a bit of rational thinking, rather than starting with the latest magic juice (and a glossy brochure) available and working around it.”

Robert W. Powitz, Forensic Sanitarian, R.W.Powitz & Associates, PC

Feature Article

Finding Cleaning Processes that Hide in Plain Sight: Ask “Why?” Ask “What’s That?”

Barbara Kanegsberg & Ed Kanegsberg, BFK Solutions LLC

To solve critical cleaning problems, be a preschooler. Ask: Why? Ask: What’s that? The source of the critical cleaning problems may be hiding in plain sight. A process might not be identified as cleaning; no one may think about it as cleaning. We were asked to improve a final aqueous cleaning process, one that everyone assumed was the most important cleaning step. It wasn’t! The true critical cleaning process, the “tipping point” step, was up-stream. It was a process no one thought was important, let alone that it was the critical cleaning process. 

The goal was to improve their aqueous in-line process, the last step prior to plating or other coating process. There was unacceptable coating quality on metal and plastic parts. The reject rate was high. Coating and plating quality were determined visually. Fortunately, the lead operations person – let’s call him Joe - was very observant and kept careful photographic records. Each picture was worth a thousand words; and there were hundreds of photos. You could see the fisheye and residue trapped under the coating. 

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

PQCW Webinar: Navigate Solvent Regulations - Stay in Business!

Manufacturers are in challenging, frightening times. Sweeping, complex environmental regulatory activities result in seismic shifts in the solvent landscape. Manufacturers in critical product cleaning face technical, economic, and logistical problems. You may ask yourself “how do I stay in business?” We urge you to attend “Navigating Solvent Regulations: A Reality Round Table on Future-Proofing Strategies.” The free, live-stream Product Quality Cleaning Workshop webinar is on May 7 at 10 A.M. Central and features the PQCW team of Darren Williams, Barbara Kanegsberg and Ed Kanegsberg, along with Jeff Davis of Hubbard-Hall. While we don’t have all the answers (no one does!), we have the experience and expertise to help you recognize problems and opportunities. Our goal is to provide insights to allow you to continue producing high quality, cost-effective product in the face of regulatory and economic uncertainties. 

Register for the Zoom link

PQCW Webinar: “A Path Forward for Solvent Cleaning”

Michael Onken of SAFECHEM will explain why solvent cleaning in an airless degreaser can be an excellent alternative to water-based cleaning, and how it can help achieve consistent and reliable cleaning results. Mike explains how the approach can cut costs, increase operational efficiency, support sustainability performance, and minimize worker exposure. The presentation will include case studies. Join the PQCW team on May 23 at 10 AM CDT as we ask Mike lots of questions (bring your own questions!). 

Register for the Zoom link

Introducing “Clean Critically” from PQCW

Demystify cleaning and gain the power to make your own cleaning decisions – painlessly, in your spare time. Discover valuable cleaning tidbits in minutes with “Clean Critically,” a new video series on the Product Quality Cleaning Workshops channel. The PCQW team of Barbara and Ed Kanegsberg of BFK Solutions and Darren Williams of Sam Houston State University discuss topics that include technical advances, economic considerations, and safety/environmental regulatory issues that impact manufacturing and repair of product. The weekly series is essential for manufacturers of high-value product in areas such as metal pretreatment, aerospace/aeronautics, optics, electronic assemblies, and medical devices.

View video here

Handheld XRF

Join the Surface Finishers Educational Association (SFEA) on May 9 for a presentation, "Basics and Demos of XRF Technology" by Steve Norris, Plasma Technology, Inc. and Pam Nafsinger, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments. 

•How handheld XRF works

•Analytical capabilities Benefits of handheld XRF

•Review of various applications with focus on General Metals identification and chemical analysis

• Coating applications 

•Live demos for coatings and metals analysis

Register for the free Zoom meeting

BFK Solutions. – independent consultants and practical educators

Our decades of experience help you make productive decisions about your cleaning processes, your manufacturing processes, your business. Contact Ed and Barbara Kanegsberg with concerns about cleaning, surface quality, regulatory issues - we’ll get back to you and discuss your cleaning issue, whether or not we do a project together! Suggest a topic – we may write about it! 

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