Flexible Manufacturing

Clēan Works, a food and beverage OEM specializing in waterless decontamination technology, faced a critical scalability challenge when COVID-19 created sudden global demand for N95 mask sanitization systems. Their existing machine lineup relied on a mix of control components, making it difficult to standardize code, simplify maintenance, or rapidly replicate designs across new units. Without a unified control architecture, scaling production from beta machines to dozens of commercial units in a compressed timeframe was operationally untenable — a costly bottleneck at precisely the moment international demand was accelerating.

Working with Rockwell Automation and authorized distributor Gerrie Electric, Clēan Works standardized its Clēan Batch, Clēan Flow, and Clēan Flow Mini systems on the Micro800™ programmable control platform — a compact, cost-effective solution suited to the physical constraints of small control panels. The PanelView™ 800 HMI was integrated to provide machine control, status visualization, and remote access via its built-in VNC server. Electrical engineering firm Synchro Engineering supported the design buildout. The team unified controls, HMI, safety components, and industrial hardware across the entire product lineup, enabling a single codebase and standardized support model that could scale without redesign at each production run.

The standardized platform enabled Clēan Works to produce 65 machines in eight weeks — a pace that would have been impossible with the previous mixed-component design. Key outcomes include:

• Lead times cut by approximately half through coordinated supply chain mobilization with Rockwell Automation's COVID-19 task force and Gerrie Electric
• The Clēan Flow Mini system achieves a sanitization throughput of 1,200 N95 masks per hour, or roughly 30,000 per day
• Remote monitoring via VNC enables engineers to diagnose issues and push system upgrades without an on-site visit, reducing support overhead as the installed base grew internationally

• Platform standardization across a product lineup compounds: unified code and components reduce not just build time but ongoing support costs at scale.
• In time-critical ramp scenarios, distributor relationships are a force multiplier — Gerrie Electric's trusted-advisor role kept information flow seamless under pressure.
• Remote access built into the HMI layer (VNC) converts a hardware product into a serviceable asset, enabling support at international scale without proportional headcount.
• Physical constraints (small panel footprint) should be treated as a design requirement from day one, not an afterthought.
• Supply chain coordination with a primary vendor during a surge can halve lead times — but requires an established relationship before the crisis hits.