Testing for electrostatic dissipation, otherwise known as ESD, is a characteristic of a flooring surface measured by its ability to dissipate static electricity. Similar flooring types may be conductive and grounded and provide a dissipation of static charge in this way. Manufacturers often require testing of flooring following installation to confirm its effectiveness.
You may ask, why is ESD testing required? Most manufacturers of ESD and similar flooring materials require testing following installation to ensure the product is working as intended, which may be a requirement for warranty coverage. The installation and maintenance of ESD flooring is done with the purpose to protect a product or process and therefore performance testing to quantify these characteristics is paramount in receiving the full value of the product installed and confirming its purpose.
ESD flooring systems are expensive, and testing will confirm that the intention of the installation is realized. Knowing and monitoring these results will help understand the ongoing effectiveness of the flooring and whether it is providing adequate protection or needs to be repaired or replaced. When ESD occurs without proper mitigation, it can slowly damage equipment within the room. Clean rooms, telecommunication, and manufacturing are just some of the facilities that benefit from ESD testing.
This test should be performed following installation as required by the manufacturer, as well as at regular intervals based on application, use, and manufacturer’s recommendations to confirm ongoing performance. By routinely testing, any issues can be dealt with immediately rather than the equipment failing without understanding why.
Standards in the industry have long defined the characteristics necessary for conductive flooring systems. Our quick and non-destructive testing utilizes an AEMC Megohmmeter to place leads at least three feet apart for testing the voltage of current running through the flooring from negative to positive resistance points. ASTM F150 for Standard Test Method for Electrical Resistance of Conductive and Static Dissipative Resilient Flooring informs our testing and ANSI STM97.1 and STM97.2 further defines that there must be a grounded copper strip for every 1000 sq. ft of ESD flooring less than 1.0 x 109 and the accumulation of body voltage must be less than 100 volts.
More recently is the update of ANSI/ESD STM7.1 for point-to-point and point-to-ground ESD testing and the ANSI/ESD STM97.2 walking test of the ability of the flooring and footwear to dissipate static electricity. We use the Prostat PGA-710 Walking Test System Kit that is comprised of all Prostat brand Electrostatic Field Meter (PFM-711B), Charge Plate Monitor Assembly (CPM-720B), and Autoanalysis System (PGA-710B). This new process connect via USB and involves a technician performing several six-step maneuvers that are recorded on the Prostat Autoanalysis software to determine if the footwear and flooring system are within the provided parameters or not.
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