In ordinary movement, a person generates static electricity. Under these circumstances, making contact with a conductive material will discharge static from the body very fast. This is what’s known as ESD = Electrostatic discharge. Static electricity is becoming a big problem for electronics manufacturers. Usually, no one notices because we don’t feel discharges below 3000 volts. Above 5000 volts, we may see ESD as a spark. Very sensitive electronics can be damaged with a charge of merely 30 volts, and a lot of standard electronics are sensitive to charges of 100 – 200 volts. It is essential [[to regularly and correctly measure your ESD control when manufacturing electronic equipment|when manufacturing electronic equipment to regularly and correctly measure your ESD control.

Here are a handful of essential tips to measure all the parts of your ESD workstation.

• · When you measure your ESD control on your work surface, place your probes on the tabletop, spaced at least 25 cm apart and at least 5 cm from the top edge.
• · For shelves and tables, place one probe on the work surface and the other probe on the shelf. Point-to-point resistance should be < 1x10⁹ Ω
• · For flooring, put one probe on the work surface and the other probe on the ESD floor. Your point-to-point resistance should be < 1x10⁹ Ω
• · Test the common point ground by placing the probe on the tabletop and measure the system’s total resistance between the tabletop and the common point ground using a measuring lead.
• · For chair ESD, place one probe on the seat of the chair and the other on a metal plate under one of the chair’s wheels. The point-to-point resistance should be < 1x10⁹ Ω (with upcoming standard < 1x1010 Ω). For best results, make sure chair wheels are cleaned with ESD detergent.