ESD Audit Checklist

Grounding/General ESD Controls

1. Is there a common ESD ground for the entire plant?

2. Is ESD protective flooring used in ESD controlled areas where the personnel are mobile while handling ESD sensitive items?

3. Where ESD protective flooring is used, is the flooring grounded to the plant's common ESD ground?

4. Is the ESD protective flooring grounded properly at prescribed intervals?

M1. Measure the resistivity of the ESD protective flooring; Spec: 0-1e5 Ohms/Square

M2. Measure field voltages at different areas of the floor; Spec: < 200V

M3. Measure the resistance between a flooring ground point and the common ESD ground; Spec: < 1 Ohm

5. Where ESD protective flooring is used for personnel grounding, are foot grounding devices or conductive footwear worn?

6. Where conductive footwear is used, do personnel check continuity to ground upon entering the area?

M4. Measure the resistivity of the conductive shoes; Spec: 0-1e5 Ohms/Square

7. Are the ground points of all workstations grounded to the common ESD ground of the plant?

M5. Measure the resistance between a workstation ESD ground point and the common ESD ground; Spec: < 1 Ohm

8. Are personnel wearing grounded wrist straps at the ESD-protected workstations?

9. Are personnel checking their wrist straps for continuity at regular intervals and are the results of these checks logged consistently and kept?

10. Where used, are continuous ground monitors checked and maintained periodically?

11. Are the wrist strap/conductive footwear checkers checked and maintained regularly?

12. Do wrist straps and foot grounders fit correctly?

13. Are wrist straps and foot grounders working properly?

14. Are disposable foot grounders limited to one-time use?

15. Do personnel wear ESD protective garments or smocks in ESD controlled areas?

16. Are ESD protective garments correctly worn?

M6. Measure the resistivity of the ESD protective garment/smock; Spec: 0-1e5 Ohms/Square

17. Are the ground points of all equipment grounded to the common ESD ground of the plant?

M7. Measure the resistances between equipment ESD ground points and the common ESD ground; Spec: < 1 Ohm

M8. Measure field voltages around the equipment; Spec: < 200V

18. Are non-grounded personnel at least 4 feet away from any ESD sensitive area?

19. Are charge-generating equipment at least 4 feet away from any ESD sensitive area?

20. Is the surface of the worktable where ESD-sensitive devices are handled covered with a static dissipative mat?

21. Is the static dissipative mat on the table properly grounded to the ESD common ground at prescribed intervals?

M9. Measure the resistivity of the worktable surface; Spec: 1e5-1e9 Ohms/Square

M10. Measure the resistance of the dissipative mat ground point to the common ESD ground; Spec: < 1 Ohm

M11. Measure field voltages at different areas of the worktable surface; Spec: < 200V

22. Are the ground points of workstations and equipment properly labeled as such?

23. Does the plant have a prescribed procedure and frequency for cleaning their ESD protective flooring/surfaces to maintain their conductive/dissipative properties?

24. Are there any non-essential personal items in the ESD controlled areas?

M12. Measure field voltages around any non-essential personal items; Spec: < 200V

25. Are there any insulative materials in ESD controlled areas, e.g., plastic bags, plastic envelopes, plastic folders, boxes?

26. Where insulative materials are present in ESD controlled areas, are ionizers in use?

27. Where ionizers are in use, are these ionizers properly positioned and distributed to provide adequate ESD protection?

28. Where ionizers are in use, are these ionizers being checked and maintained regularly?

M13. Measure field voltages around any insulative/triboelectric items in the workplace; Spec: < 200V

29. Is the RH of ESD controlled areas maintained above 40% and is the RH in these areas monitored?

Storage/Stationing/Transfer of Materials

30. Are storage racks or cabinets conductive, but covered with dissipative liners in areas contacting ESD sensitive items?

31. Are the conductive storage racks or cabinets individually grounded to the common ESD ground?

M14. Measure the resistance of the rack/cabinet ground point to the common ESD ground; Spec: < 1 Ohm

32. Is each level of a storage rack or cabinet grounded to the other levels?

33. Are the trays or boxes used in storing ESD sensitive materials on dissipative racks/cabinets also dissipative?

M15. Measure field voltages around the storage racks and cabinets; Spec: < 200V

34. Do personnel ground themselves first before handling ESD sensitive items that are stored on racks or in cabinets?

35. Are carts used for transporting ESD sensitive materials grounded to the ESD protective flooring with a drag chain or conductive wheels?

36. Is each level of a multi-level cart grounded to the other levels?

37. Are boards/units being transported in dissipative containers with dissipative lids to shield them from electric fields?

38. Are the carts properly grounded to the common ESD ground when not in transit?

M16. Measure field voltages around the carts while stationary and while in transit; Spec: < 200V

39. Are the dissipative containers of transported boards/units allowed to discharge through a dissipative mat on the work table before they are opened?

40. Do personnel ground themselves first before handling ESD sensitive items from a cart/container or on the work table?

Plant ESD Control Program

41. Is there a person, entity, or group owning the over-all ESD control program of the plant?

42. Does the plant have a metric or indicator that pertains to the level of success of their ESD control program?

43. Is there a system in place for continuously reviewing and improving the plant's ESD control program?

44. Is there a system for conducting regular ESD control audits in the plant?

45. Is there a standard checklist used during ESD audits?

46. Does the ESD audit checklist include actual measurements of resistivities and field voltages?

47. Does the plant have a resistivity meter and a field meter for actual measurement of resistivities and voltage build-ups during audits?

48. Is there a system for tracking and closing open action items generated by the internal ESD audits?

49. Are ESD Control requirements imposed on visitors?

50. Is there a system for monitoring employee violations of ESD controls?

51. Is there a system for correcting system issues that lead to ESD control violations?

52. Is there a system for implementing disciplinary actions on personnel who commit ESD violations?

ESD Control Training/Certification

53. Are all employees in the plant trained on ESD awareness and control?

54. Is there a record of all employees' ESD training history?

55. Is there a standard training module used for training new employees on ESD control?

56. Are all personnel working in ESD controlled areas trained and certified on ESD?

57. Are the ESD trainors trained and certified as such?

58. Is there a system for identifying employees that need to undergo ESD training or recertification?

59. Is there a central repository of ESD training materials and references?

ESD Controls; The Triboelectric Series

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