ESD Equipment – How Does it Work?

Having ESD equipment in an office, warehouse or high risk workplace is crucial to the safety and operation of a company.

Making sure you protect your products and employees is of the highest importance. That’s why when it comes to the simplest of office furniture, chairs and workbenches it’s crucial to make sure you’re getting industry approved ESD protected furniture that performs as it should.

Now the importance of ESD protection is obvious. You simply don’t want electrostatic discharge to effect, destroy or set off a chain reaction that could do untold damage.

But in terms of the ESD equipment, chairs and workbenches, how is it that these seemingly innocuous and simple pieces of furniture can help enhance and protect a workplace?

Let look at ESD chairs to start with.

Typically ESD chairs dissipate electrostatic charge from the user by providing a conductive path from the part of the body that is in contact with the chair to ground.

This is only possible because the fabric in upholstered chairs has conductive fibres woven into the fabric. For chairs that aren’t fabric, vinyl for instance the vinyl upholstery is manufactured with a thin conductive layer below the surface of the vinyl.

With workbenches the way they work is a little different – obviously!

The key to ESD workbenches is in the surface of the bench. In order to provide the correct environment for an ESD workstation, an ESD workbench should have a static dissipative surface.

According to Radio-Electronics.com,

‘[The] reason for having a high resistance dissipative surface rather than a fully conductive surface is that of safety. If high voltages were present in a system, then accidentally touching a conductive work surface and a high voltage source could be dangerous.’

To have a fully ESD protected area the workbench is one of the most crucial elements. After all this is the main area where work is performed. Along with an ESD protected chair you’re a long way towards having a fully ESD protected area – and a long way towards ensuring the safety of your business.