We have recently learned that the flooring requirements in the 2007 revision of ANSI/ESD S20.20 will be changing. This should be good news for everyone. According to our source, the new requirements should allow any conductive or static dissipative floor as long as the system resistance measures below 1.0 x 10 E9 AND the body voltage generation measures below 100 volts. These changes in ESD standards place heightened importance on identifying low generating flooring materials like rubber and dissipative carpet.
In anticipation of this change we strongly recommend testing your existing flooring and footwear combinations for system resistance and body voltage generation. The test method for system resistance is ANSI/ESD 97.1 and the method for measuring body voltage is S97.2. You can purchase these test standards from the ESD Association at this link. We see this as good news because it will reduce the use of overly conductive materials by placing more value on a floor's charge generation properties. For example, this independent lab study shows that a static dissipative carpet tile measuring between 1 million and 10 million ohms controls charge generation as well as an overly conductive carpet tile measuring close to 25,000 ohms to ground.
If you are unsure about the safety of your floor or wonder if your exisiting system will meet the new changes, contact Staticworx at info@staticworx.com to arrange a free GroundSafe flooring evaluation. You can also visit www.staticworx.com to learn more about ESD standards, safety and flooring material performance.
Based on these as well as other pending changes, Staticworx is excited to announce a soon to be published revision of an old article from the May 2005 edition of Conformity Magazine titled Choosing the Right ESD Flooring for Laboratory and Technical Environments. The revised and expanded article will be published in early 2012. The original article has become obsolete due to numerous industry changes since its publication in 2005:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read more about the changes below:
The original article Choosing the Right ESD Flooring for Laboratory and Technical Spaces was published in the May of 2005 of Conformity Magazine. In its published form, the article targeted specifiers interested in establishing a comprehensive ESD prevention program for electronics manufacturing in the factory and laboratory environment. Factory ESD programs require controlled footwear, special static free packaging, employee training about electricity, frequent scheduled testing of the electrical properties of work surfaces, carts, floors and packaging as well as a comprehensive grounding strategy for all conductive and dissipative materials.
The original article was not intended as an advisory for specifiers of grounded flooring for use end user environments where the flooring might be installed around telecommunications equipment, flight control electronics, operational electrical appliances and operational computer equipment.
At the time of publication, the article favored conductive flooring materials over static dissipative alternatives exclusively for controlled factory environments. This stand was made because, in 2005, most static dissipative materials were manufactured with too much electrical resistance to meet the requirements of ANSI/ESD S20.20 for factory environment. The new version of S20.20 will raise the resistance limits, eliminating this concern with compliance. The bias towards conductive materials for factory environments gave many architects and designers the false impression that a highly conductive floor might be the better choice for any static control flooring application including end user spaces. This could not be further from the truth. A floor's conductivity is not a predictor of low charging properties. As has been well documented, highly conductive flooring should never be used in end user environments where electrical appliances are in operation. Recent testing of several different types of ESD carpet tile has proven that static dissipative carpet is safer and offers equal or better performance than the conductive carpet tiles used in the original study.
Go here to read the White Paper about conductive versus static dissipative carpet
A follow-up article incorporating the new versions of the standards referenced in the original article had been intended for some time. For example, ANSI/ESD S20.20-1999 was revised shortly after the original publication of the article, as were many other grounding documents. Unfortunately, Conformity Magazine dissolved before any revision could be submitted.
The original research and testing of all ESD flooring was performed on a limited number of samples in a warehouse in Wilmington, Massachusetts under uncontrolled humidity conditions. The effects of relative humidity on the performance of static control flooring are well documented in the public domain.
The updated article will include several revisions and additional conclusions based on independent lab testing at low humidity in a controlled environment. For example, conductive carpet generates over 1kV at low humidity. In the original study this fact was not revealed due to high humidity conditions. As a result of recent changes in grounding and safety standards, the edited version will include NFPA 99 test results on several flooring materials. NFPA 99 testing was added to evaluate the safety and liability exposure of grounded carpet used in the vicinity of school computer labs, electrical appliances in switch rooms, call centers and dispatcher areas, networked offices and other uncontrolled public access spaces. Using the NFPA 99 test method we discovered that most carpet measuring in the conductive range (between 25,000 ohms and 1,000,000 ohms) would likely not meet NFPA 99. The updated article will also include commentary by consultants and engineering experts in the field. There will be a collection of pdfs containing relevant language from grounding standards, a commentary on the upcoming revision (again) to ANSI/ESD S20.20 and a reference chart designed to help specifiers match suitable ESD flooring options with the safety standards and requirements of specific types of work spaces. The chart will include a checklist on whether or not a particular type of floor meets the following safety and grounding standards:
- ATIS 030062-2005
- Motorola R56- 2005
- FAA STD 019e-2005
- ANSI/ESD S20.20-2007 and pending changes in 2012
- IBM Data Center Recommendations
- NFPA 99
- DoD Manual 4145.26-M for explosives
Learn more about static watching short videos
Comments