In ordinary movement, a person generates static electricity. Under these circumstances, coming in contact with a conductive material will cause a fast discharge of static from your body. This is what’s known as ESD = Electrostatic discharge. Static electricity is becoming a major problem in the electronics industry. Normally, this goes unnoticed because we do not feel discharges under 3000 volts. We may see ESD beyond 5000 volts as a spark. Extremely sensitive components may be damaged with a charge of just 30 volts, and many standard components are sensitive to charges of 100 – 200 volts. It is critical [[to regularly and correctly measure your ESD control when manufacturing electronic equipment|when manufacturing electronic equipment to regularly and correctly measure your ESD control.

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

• · When measuring 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 edge of the top.
• · For tables and shelves, put one probe on your work surface and one probe on the shelf. Your point-to-point resistance should be < 1x10⁹ Ω
• · For flooring, place one probe on your work surface and the other probe on the ESD floor. The 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. Point-to-point resistance should be < 1x10⁹ Ω (with upcoming standard < 1x1010 Ω). For best results, ensure chair wheels have been cleaned with ESD detergent.