In ESD TR20.20-2016, section 8.3 Footwear/ Flooring System, ANSI/ESD STM97.2 can be used to evaluate systems prior to installation or with installed floors which included all floor coverings(e.g., tiles carpets, epoxies, and laminates), mats, paints/coatings, or floor finishes.
Is periodic walk test required for area such as warehouse that fully uses uncoated steel plate flooring type as shown below?
If walk test is required, any recommendation on how frequent it should be re-check for organization that have humidity controlled within 30% to 60% range?
Per ANSI/ESD S20.20, the ANSI/ESD STM97.2 walking voltage test is only required for product qualification which is done when first establishing the ESD program. The periodic compliance verification requirements are the resistance measurements of the footwear and flooring separately.
Even though there is no requirement to do periodic walking voltage tests, it may be beneficial to see how the body voltage of the footwear/flooring system is working over time. If you have the equipment and choose to do this, you would want to do it at least during the dryest time of the year with each approved ESD footwear type you have. The resistance checks should also be able to give you an indication of how the footwear and flooring are working over time, but the body voltage test will give you a more direct measurement
Hi
A lot of people think the lowest (due to metal surface) grounding resistance is the best for electrostatic. But I measured “walking test” onto such kind of floors and I can see that metal floor makes high frequency charging onto personnel bodies. Maximum and minimum peaks are higher than produced with the same shoes but at standard floor as vinyl for example. So, please consider this when you use metal floor. Walking test is able to show to you if you can expect problems.
