The ESD 20:20 Stamp of Approval: Preventing Electrostatic Discharge (Demo)

Casual visitors to any manufacturing plant for electronic or mechanical devices may be curious as to why people on the assembly line are in white overalls, wool caps, and slip-on grounders – not to mention having no metallic items on them. Fred Tenzer and Gene Felder states in a contribution to In Compliance magazine:

“Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the hidden enemy within your factory. You cannot feel or see most ESD events, but they can cause electronic components to fail or cause mysterious and annoying problems. There are two types of ESD damage: 1. catastrophic failures, and 2. latent defects. By definition, normal quality control inspections are able to identify catastrophic failures, but are not able to detect latent defects. In general, modern electronics are more susceptible to ESD; that is their withstand voltages are lower. This is due to the drive for miniaturization and faster operation. Thus the semiconductor circuitry is getting smaller.”

An electrostatic discharge is the last thing any manufacturer wants when they have a large order of products to fill. Some experts report that ESD is not readily apparent when a product, like electronic devices, is submitted for quality testing, and can instead rear its ugly head by subtly damaging the circuit boards. As every manufacturing plant you operate is critical to the success of your business, you must ensure that it surpasses ESD 20:20 standards with help from companies like the International Standards Authority, Inc. The importance of protecting components against ESD increased in premium with the higher emphasis on miniaturizing. Tenzer and Felder cited a paper by the ESD Association, which stated that device development from 2010 to 2015 placed additional focus on reducing the effects of Human Body Model and Charged Device Model in a potential ESD event. As such, all personnel should be sufficiently grounded as to generate less than 100 volts. An ISO certification company like ISA can work with you to stamp out ESD flow. The work is primarily based on ensuring compliance with guidelines stated under ANSI/ESD20.20. They include transporting ESD-sensitive material in static-resistant containers and installing ionization systems in non-conductive locations, such as testing stations for circuit boards. The floors themselves must not be conductive as well. Protecting your plant from bursts of static electricity is essential to safeguarding your machines and your employees. A few excess volts mean the difference between a successful production order and big replacement expenses. (Source: Now Is the Time for ESD Control Programs To Be Improved, In Compliance)