Companies Avoid Electrostatic Discharge by Getting ESD 20:20 Certified (Demo)

In everyday life, those little jolts we experience when touching a doorknob or metal handrail after walking across a carpeted floor are minor nuisances. However, to a manufacturing company that doesn’t have ESD 20:20 certification, those little lightning bolts are zapping out profit and zapping in product failures and losses. In an article for LiveScience.com, writer Corey Binns explains how electrostatic discharge (ESD) can potentially strike at the heart of a company:

Static electricity builds when electrons leap between two objects that have opposing electrical charges. A stunning handshake occurs when one person has a negative charge, and the other doesn’t. All materials are made up of molecules, and all molecules have tiny atoms, with positively charged protons, neutral neutrons, and negatively charged electrons floating around. Most of the time an atom is neutral with the same number of protons and electrons.

Bad for business It began in the late 70s when electronic manufacturing was at its peak, and feeling the effects of ESD began yielding losses and product failures. This sparked an effort to improve the work environment and eliminate ESD to remain in the black. This move would also provide the employees with protection from the discomfort of ESD.

Some manufacturing workers are required to abide by strict clothing regulations, avoiding sweaters and hats that might encourage static. Technicians might wear wrist straps that are attached to the floor with a metal wire, sending extra electrons out of the room and into the ground.

Certified static-free Since the realization of how much damage can be caused by ESD, industry giants together with local government have conspired to create a process called ESD 20:20, which is offered by ISO certification services. This attests that the product was built in a static-free environment, assuring customers of its top quality and functionality. Besides implementing the measures stated above for avoiding ESD, the factory environment needs to be ionized to neutralize static buildups, and the products are required to be stored and shipped in static-proof material. Quality assurance Customers deserve to be confident about whatever they’re purchasing. The ISO and ESD certificates are manufacturers’ way of giving them just that. Where there is customer confidence, there is more business. (Article Excerpt and Image from “The Shocking Truth Behind Static Electricity”, LiveScience, 17 April 2007)