ESD Work Group SALZBURG

By Dan Reinke

At the Salzburg Congress about 30 people met to discuss SAFEX resources to support our members in identifying and managing the hazards from electrostatic discharges (ESD).  Our current Good Practice Guide on ESD hazards was updated most recently in 2012 and is a very good source of information to support ESD risk assessments.   ESD incidents continue to happen, however, and as an organization it is appropriate we work to ensure we are providing our members the resources they need to prevent these events. 

A review of the SAFEX incident database found 159 incidents related to electrostatics.  In our Congress session several participants shared their experiences with ESD incidents.  One common theme of all of the stories shared was that in all cases the ESD hazards were understood and safeguards were in place, but for a variety of reasons the safeguards either were not adequate or failed to prevent the discharge.

To help our members better understand and manage ESD hazards SAFEX is working on two initiatives.  The first is to develop a computer-based training program that would be hosted on the SAFEX e-learning website.  The second is to review and update or expand the current ESD Good Practice Guide.  The goal of the ESD meeting in Salzburg was to identify member company subject matter experts (SMEs) who may be willing to provide guidance on these two initiatives.  Others who were not represented at Salzburg but would like to participate in this group can contact the author.

Two well-regarded ESD specialists have developed the content for an ESD training module.  The steering group will be asked to review and comment on this content to help ensure the training meets the needs of SAFEX members.  We anticipate this task will entail several calls over the summer.

Following finalization of the training we will solicit input on options to strengthen our ESD Good Practice Guide, with the focus on maximizing the value to members.  Information would be included on new static monitoring technologies, common challenges and best practices around inspection, testing and preventive maintenance (ITPM) of ESD safeguards.