Electrostatic damage within a business can cause millions in damage but what exactly is it and how can your business avoid electrostatic damage? These are some of the topics we will be covering in today’s post so your business can run more efficiently and be more profitable.
What is electrostatic damage?
Electrostatic damage or ESD for short is when a small electric charge jumps from your body to an electric component and causes damage to it. This happens because the molecules in our bodies are free flowing and can jump from our bodies to other surfaces, when this happens a small shock is felt.
This small shock is harmless to us but to electronic goods, it can cause them to fail. These devices fail because their thermal mass isn’t large enough to cope with the rapid increase in internal temperature, this causes them to overheat and fail.
How to prevent ESD in the workplace.
ESD is a real problem in business with some experts estimating that a third of all damage to electrical components is caused by electrostatic discharge. With this in mind, ESD could be causing your business millions.
So how do you prevent ESD? Companies can use anti-static additives or products within the workforce to minimise the risk of electrostatic discharge.
In business, you may see manufacturing companies using anti-static flooring or as it’s more commonly known ESD flooring. This minimises the chance of ESD occurring but there are other smaller fixes you can use too.
Companies will often have their employees use anti-static wristbands or have them wear static-resistant clothing in the workplace. Some businesses may not need a whole floor that has anti-static properties so they may use anti-static mats which can be more cost-effective.
Anti-static packaging and its role within a business.
It’s not the manufacturing process where ESD can cause damage it can also cause damage during the shipping process.
Damage at any point in business is never ideal but during shipping, it can cause problems as the buyer ends up with a faulty item and the company has no idea that it has happened. This doesn’t create a good user experience and can cost a business more than just monetary value.
To minimise the chance of electronic goods being damaged during shipping you can use anti-static packaging. Anti-static packaging comes in many forms and you will need to decide which is best for the items that you send.
Anti-static packaging protects your components from ESD from the moment it is put into packaging until it is taken out on the other side by the end user.
There are different types of ASP and these come in the form of static-dissipative packaging which is often pink in colour. This packaging is an economical way of protecting against ESD.
Another form of packaging is static shielding packaging which is more expensive but offers a higher level of protection for your components. Static shielding packaging comes in three layers, the outer being a thick protective layer that guards against piercing. The 2nd layer protects acgainst suppressive electrical and the third layer protects against static dissipative.
Static shielding packaging can come in many sizes and applications including bags and tubes.
Finally, black conductive packaging is also used to protect your components or products when shipping. Black conductive which is a carbon-load polyethene protects your components against isolated static charges.
All of the above methods will protect your components against electrostatic discharge, but why should a business even care?
Why should your business protect against static damage?
For your business, it may seem like too much hard work to protect your staff and products from something as small as a tiny shock, but static damage according to experts makes up 33% of damages occurred to electronic components.
But that’s not all, static shocks can even cause fires in the right environment and as a result, can have a direct threat to your employees’ lives.
As a business owner, you have a responsibility to provide your staff with a safe working environment and you also have to look after your profits too. By installing anti-static protection methods within your business you are doing both. This improved safety and efficiency are also then passed on to your clients who will receive fewer broken items and will increase customer satisfaction within your business.
