ESD and Static Control Questions

Q: Is it ok to wear ESD shoes or heel, toe, or sole grounders outside?

A: No.  MIL-HDBK-263B Appendix 1 page 101 40.1.2 states, “Conductive shoes, shoe covers, or heel grounders should be used to discharge personnel on conductive floors. These items should only be worn in the ESD protected areas and should be kept clean so that contaminants do not inhibit their conductive interface with the floor.”

So, to protect your investment, for good house keeping and maintenance, longevity of the ESD personal equipment, just don them before going into the EPA and take them off when you leave.

Do this and keep them clean (vacuum inside of shoes weekly and maybe clean outsoles and grounders with soapy water once a week) and you’ll get more wear out of them and they’ll be more effective.

Q. What is the importance of having the personnel within an EPA to wear ESD footwear on an ESD Flooring system?

A. Thanks for the inquiry. It was good speaking with you earlier. You had stated that you had concerns about the grounding of your flooring system and my first question to you was about the use of ESD footwear. I believe that you had stated that not everyone was using esd footwear.

You pose a situation here that needs to be addressed as a top priority at all levels of ESD Awareness for every client that we come into contact with. I don’t mean to over-simplify this but I am seeing a common trend in the ESD industry; your ESD system is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. Another way to say this is; If you buy a Plasma TV, it needs to come with a power cord and you need to plug that in.
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Q: We have an ESD tile floor in our testing lab. During a recent AS9100 audit we were asked why we don’t use wrist straps. Since our ISO9100 & 2 certified calibration provider only uses them when they have to certify the repair of a system and we don’t do that do we need more than the flooring? (booties, straps, etc.)

A: The answer to your question is, YES. In accordance to EOS/ESD standards, an ESD floor in conjunction with Heel Grounders, ESD Booties, ESD Foot Wear does NOT take the place of using Personnel grounded Wrist Straps at the workstation. So the basic ESD program would include the technician wearing a Wrist Strap.

Protective personnel grounding products such as; heel straps, booties and shoes working in conjunction with an ESD floor are designed for processes within your ESD program where the technician has to be mobile within an ESDPA, (ESD Protected Area) where the electrostatic sensitive device is not protected in an ESD protective container or shielded in some manner, e.g. ESD Bag, Bin, Tote, Box, Tray, Container, etc.

If your process has technical personnel setting or standing at a workstation they DO require grounding via a Wrist Strap. So one doesn’t necessarily take the place of the other, and both may be required depending on your personnel and their mobility throughout the plant.

If your technical staff removes their wrist strap to transport an ESD sensitive device or component outside the ESD protected area, the device also needs to be shielded as well as the technician being properly outfitted with ESD shoes, booties or heel straps. Within the ESDPA, they do require the additional shielding protection of the device, but it is always a good idea when practical.

I hope this helps address your question, please let us know if we can be of further assistance with any ESD questions or ESD protective product requirements you and your team may be sourcing.