Chapter 1: A new chapter of the human technology

The high tech machine would lead us to a fresh new page of the human technology, but it would also lead us to a potential catastrophic and tragic. 

The end of  “Stone Age” for the recycling centre This was the time we had waited for patiently. I could smell the arrogant of science and technology. Who would resist such a profound technological advancement? Nobody would, but the ‘uncontacted’ tribe sighted in Amazon. They chose to stay isolated from the outside industrial technological world living in near-total isolation from civilization. A fully automated high tech cleaning machine imported from US would be setup in the recycling center. For the SCRAP team, this marked the end of  “Stone Age” for recycling centre and a whole new chapter of the human technology would start right here.

Back to 2.5 million years ago, during the Palaeolithic period, when man lived in the caves, man used knapped stone, bone and wood tools on hunting wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting wild fruits. The tools developed gradually from single, all-purpose tools to a highly specialized machinery.

The evaluation of tools developed extremely slow following the evolution of the human species through the three successive divisions of the period, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Palaeolithic. At the end of Stone Age, began the Bronze Age, then the Iron Age. The evolution never stopped it continued until today.

In 2007, a group of technical experts from the US head office arrived in Malaysia. They were about to train the local engineers, and transfer a new high-tech machine to Malaysia factory. As this was an expensive investment, the whole project at the end must yield a substantial return of investment for the company to remain competitive in the market; the management gave the Functional team a relatively short period to achieve their lofty goal.

Among engineers selected for the Functional team, one of them was my coworker, Mr VV. There was no reason or logical explanation for someone like Mr VV who had signed to leave the company be given such a weighty task. Obviously, the QC head of department expected the QC envoy taking part to reinforce the quality and robustness of the process at large.

Things did not work the way as we projected, not long after the project started Mr VV left the company and his place was not replaced immediately. I was certain of that; if there had been a 4×400 relay event, the Functional team would not reach the finish line. Mr VV had played a pivotal role to pass the relay bacon to the next runner in these staggered games.

Supposedly a momentous kick-off must be set off, for this scientific masterpiece to assemble the next phase of technological advancement in the recycling process, but it just moved stealthily in as part of the recycling processes while most of us were speculating who to replace Mr VV. Assuming all relevant technical protocols had been strictly complied, there was almost no attention given by QC to this high-tech machine.

The QC findings versus the marketing presentations 

Many marketing presentations with tons of evidences explaining how the machine saved the recycling process with its mechanical automation solution. “Your parts are Clean…pure and simple, green manufacturing solutions”, the manufacturer’s motto. This automated spray cleaning system was an extremely economical and flexible robotic precision cleaning solution compared to another manual cleaning version of the factory.

Ultimately, it fitted the concept of total cost management orchestrated by the purchasing department. Given that the other factory in Thailand which had launched this project before Malaysia’s factory did not report any shortfalls found in the similar machine. Rather than having one factory from Asia up and ran the project, the Malaysia’s factory must also maximize its potential following the Thailand’s factory path.

It had been months since the team completed setup the first machine, and put it in full-swing operation. The workers in the Compound room started to load parts into the new machine, at the other end of the machine, workers unloaded parts from the machine in the clean room before transferred the cleaned parts to the next recycling station. The machine applied robotic CO2 (carbon dioxide) spray cleaning system; it was software and robotic interface. A pair of 4-axis robots directing cleaning sprays of carbon dioxide snow at opposite sides of a manually loaded pallet. A rotary fixture with four stainless steel frames indexes the pallet of contaminated parts into the cleaning position.

In one and the half-year time, 4 machines had been installed in the recycling center. The management was convinced by the marketing presentation, and started to accept this high-tech machine was the solution to the long-drawn-out products contamination issues. But not after the QC auditors who had performed their routine check in the recycling stations had reported otherwise.

The QC shift reports revealed that a significant increase of workstations cleaning problems from these areas in the past few weeks. Besides, the wipe-test had confirmed that there were lots of unknown particles settled around the machines and the unloading bay adjoined to the clean room where the quality of air flow was strictly controlled. Moreover, they also found the same mysterious particles on the cleaned parts. What’s more, the recycling stations had to be cleaned more often than before the installation of the high-tech machines.

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Investigation and verification

I loved to go closer to the machine and check the machine, watch its robots carrying spray nozzles moving in coordination across the row of parts on the washing pallet. I could feel the chilly wind blew out from the machine through its side curtains and slits. Indeed, this was the opening to where most of the carbon dioxide gases and loose metallic particles evacuated.

A wide opening underneath the machine was another channel for the carbon dioxide air and metallic particles to disperse to the surrounding areas. The Compound room was filled with mists, noises from blistering air sprays. Whenever I stood between the machines, I felt like standing on top of the cliff of Port Campbell National Park facing the giant rock of Twelve Apostle, the stormy southern ocean, and blasting winds along the Great Ocean road. It reminded me of an unforgettable experience in Victoria Australia last year.

Not only were the winds that blew out from the machine, loose metallic particles lifted by the strong air flow also blown out from the machine. That moment when an awe-inspiring desert storm engulfed the Compound room, I felt as a blinding sandstorm hitting on my face if I came closer to the machine. It was irritating choking by this invisible blanket of metallic particles when there was no headdress to cover the face. If someone has to take two separate trips to experience the swirling waters along the Great Ocean Road and stormy sand in Sahara desert, I could have both experiences concurrently spanning two continents in this small compound room.

As soon as all machines were being put in full operation, more contaminated air released from the machines, lifting clouds of metallic particles swept over the Compound room. Layer and layer of metallic sediments settled on the workstation and the surrounding areas. Not only had that, the windblown metallic particles had gone into the ventilation systems from where the air spread to the factory central ventilation system.

Was it another sequel of Spider Man, a classic example of failed scientific masterpiece became the dangerous enemy in town? The next chapter of the human technology could be unprecedented harmful and destructive. If anybody had ever involved in the surveillance audit, particularly auditing the area that has a potential hazardous environmental issue, it was not easy to let go the feeling of being a watchdog spying on a suspicious crook. Hitherto, I did not stop auditing that area, and I was patiently waiting for the concealed misdemeanor to appear.

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The unbreakable truth about the hi-tech machine

Samples sent for Contamination Level monitoring showed that significantly high contamination level on the cleaned parts, and it was far exceeded the specification limit.

Taken as a whole, not only did this high-tech machine show an unconvincing result on the parts cleanliness, but also the machine and its ill-assorted protocols appended dreadful damages to the factory. Pay no attention to the amount of effort put in to succeed the entire project, the machine brought more damage than exceptional quality to the entire business operation.

Those metallic particles consisted of the compound forms of iron, silicon, aluminium, copper, and zinc. A number of studies suggested that some of these metals, especially iron, initiate redox reactions that were implicated in inflammation and adverse health effects.

That blasting effect could have adverse health effect – respiratory disease. If these invisible particles could travel like airborne particles across the recycling center, the workers must also have inhaled relative small amount of metallic particles after a prolonged period working without wearing the protection aids. Ultrafine particles might be more pathogenic after inhalation as they have a large surface area per unit mass, and increased ability to penetrate into the lung tissues.

In retrospect, it appeared that the disease caused by environmental pollution or virus infection, but, in fact, it was caused by …. The high-tech machine would lead us to a fresh new page of the human technology, but it would also lead us to a potential catastrophic and tragic. Some of the machine’s most mechanically fascinating and critical of processes could be among the most dangerous to humans.

Wai Ping Lee/ Jan 2011