Static Control Industry Standards Explained: ANSI/ESD S20.20: Development of an Electrostatic Discharge Control Program

ANSI/ESD S20.20: Development of an Electrostatic Discharge Control ProgramThe ESD Association is dedicated to advancing the theory and practice of ESD avoidance.  In 1999, the ESD Association has approved and published standards covering the development of an ESD control program named ANSI/ESD S20.20: Development of an Electrostatic Discharge Control Program. The standard covers the requirements necessary to design, establish, implement, and maintain an ESD control program to protect electrical or electronic parts, assemblies and equipment susceptible to ESD damage from Human Body Model (HBM) discharges greater than or equal to 100 volts.

ANSI/ESD 20.20 has both administrative and technical provisions that can be tailored to specific applications or requirements. The administrative sections cover the development of the following three plans: ESD Control Program Plan, ESD Training Plan, and Compliance Verification Plan (routine audits.) The technical elements have some “hard” requirements but include many options for compliance that will allow users to develop and implement a plan for their application that is technically adequate and cost-effective. The technical requirements cover areas such as grounding, personal grounding, protected areas, packaging, labeling, test equipment, ionization and handling.

The ANSI/ESD S20.20 is the parent document for all ESD Association standards and includes many standards with references numbers for each section.

Visit the ESD Association web site for general information, pull down the Standards window, and click the documents section for the standards that they publish. Scroll down on the documents page to view the complimentary standards that they offer. You will need to register and then login to download files. https://www.esda.org/standards/

If you have any questions about ANSI/ESD S20.20, any other standards or a general static control question – call us at 419-841-9552 or set up a 15min meeting with a static control expert here:
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