ESD control program: creation, establishment and maintenance

An ESD control program to prevent damage to sensitive components from electrostatic discharge begins with design, followed by creation and then setup. Once established, the ESD control program must be maintained. In the following, we will discuss the individual requirements for an ESD control program plan.

What is an ESD control program?

An ESD control program contains the ESD measures that are used to protect electrostatically sensitive devices (ESDS). ESDS are very sensitive components that can be destroyed or at least damaged by electrostatic discharges. An ESD control program is therefore created to ensure that this does not happen, particularly during the manufacture, processing, assembly, installation, packaging, marking, commissioning, testing, inspection or other handling of these components.

There is no specific template for an ESD control program that could be adopted by all companies.

Instead, every company that manufactures, processes or otherwise comes into contact with ESDS must develop its own ESD control program.

Furthermore, the company must appoint an ESD coordinator who must have the necessary qualifications and is responsible, among other things, for creating and implementing the ESD control program plan. Furthermore, the ESD coordinator must ensure that the ESD rules are followed.

Standard basis: DIN EN 61340-5-1

The technical and administrative requirements for an ESD control program are regulated in the standard DIN EN 61340-5-1, whereby the creation of such a program alone is not enough. In addition to the design phase, the standard therefore also regulates the establishment and maintenance of the ESD control program.

The user manual “Protection of electronic components against electrostatic phenomena”, which is set out in the DIN EN 61340-5-2 standard, can also be helpful when creating the ESD control program.

ESD control program plan

To set up an ESD control program, an ESD control program plan is required, in which administrative measures and technical measures must be regulated.

Administrative measures

Administrative measures within an ESD control program plan include:

Implementation plan
Training plan
Inspection plan

In addition to an implementation plan, a training plan and a review plan must also be drawn up when creating an ESD control program plan. The training plan specifies which employees require training in handling ESD-sensitive components. The frequency with which the training courses are repeated must also be specified in the training plan. The training method should also be specified and the level of knowledge achieved should be documented.

All ESD measures must be listed in the ESD inspection plan. Furthermore, the test cycles, the measurement methods, the measured variables and the respective limit values must be specified. For example, there are special test devices for testing ESD wrist straps, test stations for testing ESD shoes and resistance measuring devices for surface, contact and leakage resistance.

The testing of complete systems, such as the person-shoe-floor system using the “EVO” walking test, for example, should not be ignored, as this can produce different results than testing the individual parts of the system.

Technical measures

The technical measures that an ESD control program plan must address include:

Earthing of persons
Earthing and connection system
Requirements for EPA/ ESD workstation
ESD equipment for EPA/ ESD workstation
ESD packaging materials
ESD markings

The wrist strap system, which consists of a wrist earthing strap, a spiral cable (wrist earthing cable) and an earthing module, is used as a personal earthing measure for seated activities. Other personal earthing measures include ESD shoes, ESD overshoes, ESD heel straps and an ESD floor covering, which are used in particular for standing and mobile activities. For all these measures, the necessary requirements must be observed as part of the product testing and the testing method.

You can find more detailed information in our specialist article: What measures are there for earthing people?

The requirements for the ESD protection zone (EPA) or an ESD workstation must also be regulated in the ESD control program plan. In particular, ESD furniture (e.g. tables, shelves, cabinets, chairs and stools), ESD work surfaces (e.g. ESD table mats), ESD clothing and ESD trolleys can be used.

For these ESD products, certain requirements must also be met for product testing and the testing method. However, ESD clothing is not intended for earthing people.

With regard to a EPO, the equipment and the rules of conduct applicable there must be regulated, such as a ban on eating and drinking and the required accompaniment of untrained employees by trained employees.

A distinction is made between conductive, dissipative and shielding packaging materials, which must be used depending on the application. If ESDS, i.e. electrostatically sensitive components, are to be transported outside an ESD protection zone, shielding packaging materials must be used, for example.

ESD labels must be affixed to ESDS, ESD equipment and ESD materials; in the case of the latter, it must also be indicated whether the material is conductive (label: C), dissipative (label: D) or shielding (label: S). An established ESD protection zone must also be indicated by appropriate warning signs or EPA floor marking tapes .