LELAND, NC, December 18, 2018 —Flow Sciences, Inc. (FSI) evaluates and ensures that every enclosure shipped to their customer meets all relevant standards. FSI performs procedures from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 110-2016 – Methods of Testing Performance of Laboratory Fume Hoods. Examples of testing procedures include flow visualization (local and large-volume challenges), tracer gas exposure modeling via human as mannequin (HAM) testing. These procedures are conducted in-house as Flow Sciences’ Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT). FAT testing is analogous to the “as manufactured” (AM) test as mentioned in ASHRAE 110-2016. Additionally, testing is conducted at the customer’s location upon request. This test is analogous to the “as installed” (AI) test. Flow Sciences, Inc. refers to this this test as the “SAT”, or Site Acceptance Test.
Aside from ASHRAE testing methodologies, Flow Sciences tests other functionalities of containment devices; one example is vibration isolation. During this test, vibration is purposefully initiated and its effect on the measurement of the balance is analyzed in accordance with Flow Sciences’ data reproducibility standards. In essence, the enclosure’s capability of isolating a balance from vibrational interferences stemming from the external environment is put to the test. Additional information regarding vibrational interferences can be found here.
For High Potency Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (HPAPI) powder enclosures, FSI conducts surrogate powder testing to quantitatively assess containment performance. During the test, samples are collected using standard industrial hygiene field sampling methods. Following the test, samples are sent to a third-party analytical laboratory accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association Laboratory Accreditation Program (AIHA-LAP). Third-party IH companies can also be employed to perform the evaluation in FSI’s test facility.
For more information, please email your inquiry to info@flowsciences.com
