What are the three main categories for in-place equipment/system cleaning?

Although there aren’t strict guidelines to differentiate the terms from one another, the three main categories for cleaning in-place are listed here by their level of cleanliness:

• Wash-in-Place – WIP generally refers to equipment receiving full wetted coverage but may require some manual intervention along with the automated cleaning to guarantee total cleanability.
• Clean-in-Place – CIP denotes the cleaning of all interior surfaces including vessels, pipes, associated fittings, and other process equipment all without disassembly.
• Sterilization-in-Place – SIP requires the highest level of sanitation, in which all microorganisms and bacteria are removed and the vessel is considered totally disinfected. This incorporates heat into the cleaning (typically equipment is sterile if it can be proven that every spot of the machine has reached a temperature of 250°F (121°C) which has been maintained for at least 20 minutes).