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KYZEN, the global leader in innovative environmentally responsible cleaning chemistries, will present a professional development course, Fundamentals of Measuring Cleanliness, at the SMTA STAR Forum 2026, taking place July 15–16, 2026 at the Embassy Suites Kansas City Olathe.
The course will be led by Dr. Adam Klett and Dr. Elliott Fowler, bringing together industry and research perspectives to cover how cleanliness impacts reliability in electronics manufacturing and other high-reliability applications.
Designed with a practical, engineering-first approach, the session walks through how cleanliness standards have evolved, what actually constitutes contamination on assemblies, and why it matters. Attendees will look at common contaminant types—ionic, organic, and particulate—and how cleaning processes address them in real production environments.
The course also breaks down the most widely used test methods, including SIR, ROSE, Ion Chromatography, FTIR, Contact Angle Goniometry, and Liquid Particle Counting. Rather than just theory, the focus is on what each method tells you, how to use the data, and where the limitations are.
A big part of the session is hands-on and interactive. Participants will work through realistic scenarios, building cleaning strategies and test plans while balancing reliability requirements, cost, and throughput. The goal is to leave with a clearer sense of which metrics matter—and how to apply them with confidence.
In addition to his work at KYZEN, Dr. Klett is an active member of SMTA, serving on multiple committees and on the organization’s Global Board of Directors.
