Pharmaceutical Washing Station: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

1. What is Pharmaceutical Washing Station?

A pharmaceutical washing station is a machine that you can use in cleaning pharmaceutical equipment.

Bin washing station

2. What Pharmaceutical Washing Station used for?

You can use a pharmaceutical cleaning machine for the following purposes:

• Cleaning different types of pharmaceutical equipment such as bins and intermediate containers.
• Drying the different types of pharmaceutical equipment after cleaning.
• Maintaining the quality of the pharmaceutical equipment throughout the cleaning and drying process.
• Providing the best surface that you can use in the disinfection of the pharmaceutical equipment

3. What are the Advantages of Pharmaceutical Washing Station?

Whenever you are using the Pharmaceutical washing station, you will experience the following advantages:

• It is an automatic machine with the capability of working at an advanced speed thus saving time.
• It comes complete with a PLC control unit where you will set all the operations and allow it to proceed.
• You can easily monitor and control the operations from one point without a lot of movement.
• Since it is automatic, you will not need a lot of labor to assist in the cleaning and drying process.
• It guarantees very high levels of cleaning and drying efficiency thus absolute cleanliness of the pharmaceutical equipment.
• It is made of stainless steel which guarantees strength, durability and high levels of hygiene throughout the cleaning process.
• You have a guarantee of an increase in productivity due to a reduction in downtime.
• It is safe as you will not handle the toxic chemicals that were initially in the containers you intend to clean.
• You can easily use it as the operational parameters are user-friendly.
• You have the freedom of choosing a custom-made pharmaceutical washing station.
• You can use it in cleaning heat sensitive products without worrying about damage on the products.
• Pharmaceutical washing stations come in a wide range of sizes and capacities
• You will incur the very little cost of maintenance as the machine experiences low downtime incidents.

Movable washer

4. Are there Drawbacks of Pharmaceutical Washing Station?

You may experience a few drawbacks in the operation of the pharmaceutical washing station.

Some of the drawbacks that you may experience include:

• You will incur a high initial investment cost in terms of high purchase and installation cost.
• You need to hire or train labor with enough experience in handling and operating the pharmaceutical washing station.
• The machine is also big in size and therefore requires a huge floor space for installation purposes.

5. SaintyCo offer how many Types of Pharmaceutical Washing Stations?

SaintyCo will offer you three main types of pharmaceutical washing stations to choose from.

You may choose from the following types of pharmaceutical washing stations depending on the application;

• QY Movable Washer such as the Moveable & Semi-Auto Washer for Bin and container
• QDS Bin Washing Station-double chamber
• QD400-2000 Automatic Washing Station for IBC Bin

6. What are the Main Components of Pharmaceutical Washing Station?

In a pharmaceutical washing station, you will find the following components to assist in the cleaning and drying process.

· Main Body or Frame

This is the part of the machine that supports all the other components.

It is made of Austenitic stainless steel with angled chambers that guarantees high quality and durability

· Transport Unit

This is the part that moves the pharmaceutical equipment from one station to the next.

In this case, it moves the pharmaceutical equipment from the washing station on to the drying station.

For instance, the QDS Bin Washing Station-double chamber has the front and back conveyor lines

•  Washing System

This is the main part of the machine that handles the cleaning process of the pharmaceutical equipment.

It comes complete with spraying nozzles that spread enough water and other cleaning ingredients on the equipment.

It also has surge tanks that stores the water you need for the cleaning process.

Other parts include dedicated rinsing pipe, parts washing rack and pallet washing rack.

· Pump System

It is the area that supports the pressure needed in spraying the water and other cleaning parameters through the nozzles.

· Air Handling System

This is the part that controls and supplies enough air the machine needs in drying the pharmaceutical equipment.

It allows the flow of hot air within the system and gets rid of the humid air carrying away moisture.

What’s more, it has the ability of heating the air you will need for the drying procedure.

· Electrical System

It is the main unit which provides electric support that the machine requires for normal operations.

· Control System

The machine has an automatic control system which allows you to key in the right control parameters.

You can monitor the operations of the machine from the control system since it has a servo PLC control system.

· Safety System

All automatic pharmaceutical washing machines comes complete with a safety system to guarantee safety.

The system has sensors that will automatically detect problems with the system and stop the operations of the machine.

It will also cease to operate in case any of the chambers are open thus protecting you from harm.

· Water heating System

This is the part that will heat the water according to the temperature that you require in the cleaning process.

7. How does Pharmaceutical Washing Station Work?

The working principle of the pharmaceutical washing station depends on the type of machine you are using.

Generally, the working procedure goes through the same principle but with minimal variations.

You will go through the following steps when operating a pharmaceutical working station:

Step One: Preparation Stage

You need to prepare all the equipment that you need to clean as well as the pharmaceutical washing station.

This includes checking if all the parts of the machine are in proper working condition.

You will also make sure that cleaning ingredients such as water and detergents are in the right place.

After that you will open the door to the cleaning chamber and insert the pharmaceutical equipment that you intend to clean.

You have to ensure that the pharmaceutical equipment have proper orientation to make the cleaning process more effective.

Step Two: Actual Cleaning Process

At this point, you will power the machine on and insert the cleaning parameters on the control panel.

This includes the speed of cleaning, temperature of water, amount of detergent and drying time among other parameters.

After that, you will switch on the entire system and allow the machine to proceed with the process of cleaning.

The cleaning will continue in accordance to the cleaning parameters you will have assigned in advance.

The machine will clean the outside of the pharmaceutical equipment with the nozzles on the inner walls of the machine.

It will clean the inside of the pharmaceutical containers using spray nozzles which have telescopic appliances.

Step Three: Drying Procedure

After the containers are clean enough, it is time for drying the pharmaceutical equipment.

Depending on the type of machine, the drying station may or may not be on the same station.

The machine will move the clean pharmaceutical equipment to the drying station in case the stations are positioned differently.

The drying process will commence automatically as hot air will pass over the clean pharmaceutical equipment.

It will carry away the moisture from the equipment and leaving it dry.

After that, the machine will automatically stop once it attains the cleaning parameter requirements.

Open the door and remove the clean equipment and insert the stained ones to allow the cleaning process to continue.

8. What are the Cleaning Parameters of Pharmaceutical Washing Station?

The cleaning process usually requires you to control certain cleaning parameters.

The main cleaning parameters that you need to control include:

Pharmaceutical washing station

• Cleaning time where you will control the amount of time the machine will take in cleaning the equipment.
• Drying time where you need to key in the amount of time it will take to dry the equipment.
• Water temperature where the machine will automatically heat the water to the set temperature.
• Craft requirements of the machine
• Air temperature that will automatically dry or remove excess moisture from the pharmaceutical equipment.
• Detergent requirements in terms of quantity and quality of detergent.

9. Pharmaceutical Washing Station is made from which Material?

The main material manufacturers use in making pharmaceutical washing stations is Austenitic stainless steel.

It is strong enough thus guaranteeing you durability and sterility of the whole cleaning process.

10. Which Industries use Pharmaceutical Washing Station?

You can use the pharmaceutical washing station in the following industries:

• Pharmaceutical industry for cleaning pharmaceutical equipment such as bins and containers.
• Food industry to clean the food preparation equipment.
• Chemical industry to clean the chemical containers without causing harm to the operator.

11. Pharmaceutical Washing Station Should Conform to which Quality Standards?

Whenever you are shopping for a good pharmaceutical washing station, ensure it attains the following quality standards:

• cGMP which denote the current good manufacturing practices.
• ISO certification
• FDA which denotes the quality standards as per the food and drug administration.
• CE which denotes the electrical requirements of the machine in different regions.

 Pharmaceutical washing station

12. How do you Specify Pharmaceutical Washing Station?

In case you need a custom machine, you have to specify the following to the manufacturer:

• Level of automation which can either be automatic or semi-automatic
• Main structural dimensions in terms of size and weight
• Power requirements including operational power of different systems such as the pump
• Pressure requirements of the pneumatic system such as pump pressure bar, steam pressure, and compress air consumption.
• Flow rate of the pump
• Fan power including the exhaust fan power in kW.

13. What can you Clean in Pharmaceutical Washing Station?

You can use the pharmaceutical washing station to clean different products such as:

• Pharmaceutical bins
• Pharmaceutical containers
• Intermediate bulk containers
• Tubes and Flasks

14. Are there New Technologies in Bin Washing Station?

Yes, the Bin washing station consists of new forms of technology that are not available in other pharmaceutical washing stations.

It has an intelligent electrical and mechanical integrate with washing, conveying and drying functions.

It consists of two chambers where one chamber does the washing and the other the drying functions.

The double chambers have the capability of performing the washing as well as the drying functions at the same time.

It increases the drying efficiency of the machine by reducing temperature fluctuations.

This will increase the frequency of drying and also reduce energy consumption.

15. How many Types of Pharmaceutical Washing Stations are there?

There are two main types of pharmaceutical washing stations.

These include:

• Fully automatic pharmaceutical washing machine which requires minimal human intervention
• Semi-automatic which will operate efficiently with the assistance of human labor to do some functions.

16. What other Washing Solutions are used in Pharmaceutical Industry?

 Bin washing station

In the pharmaceutical industry, there are different types of cleaning solutions that you can use.

The main types of washing solutions in terms of detergents include:

• Anionic detergents
• Cationic detergents
• Amphoteric detergents
• Alkaline detergents

The nature of the detergent you use will depend on the nature of the surfactant available in the detergent.

You can use the nonionic detergents to clean the glassware used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Implying that anionic detergents are free of ions that could alter results in the pharmaceutical industry.

17. Do Pharmaceutical Washing Stations Sterilize Pharma Equipment?

Yes, pharmaceutical washing stations sterilize pharma equipment.

The high temperatures of the washing ingredients such as water assist in the sterilization process.

Apart from that, the detergents also have special ingredients that sterilizes the pharmaceutical equipment.

What’s more, the hot air does not only dry the equipment but also ensures it is free of microbial contaminants.

18. What is Cleaning Validation in Pharmaceutical Industry?

Manufacturer of pharmaceutical equipment have the responsibility of manufacturing equipment that complies to standard regulatory rules.

It has to have a design that assures consistent and effective cleaning process to avoid any form of cross-contamination.

It should also have proper verification that the cleaning process is effective.

To ensure that the all the above requirements are in order, it is important to have cleaning validation.

19. What is Clean-in-place in Pharma Industry?

Clean in place is a process which requires the use of different chemicals, water and heat to clean pharmaceutical equipment.

It is a special form of cleaning that cleans pharmaceutical equipment such as pipe work and vessels without dismantling.

It can be a one shot process where everything in the cleaning process goes to the drain.

It can also be recovery where the liquid in the cleaning process goes through a proper recycling procedure.