Botron Company Inc.

Hard Ground: The Elephant in the EPA

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In the ESD Protected Area (EPA) we face many safety risks. Because we ground everything, and I mean everything, our operators can be exposed to hard ground hazards that can lead to electric shock or worse. What is a hard ground, you might ask? It’s a low resistance grounded conductor. Think metals. And just because you’ve played it by the book (S20.20) doesn’t mean you are safe from these hazards. What we will cover here is going to show you why you need to rethink the technology at your bench and how you can better protect against threats posed by hard ground—keeping you and your team safe.

The ESD world can sometimes be hyper focused, putting too much emphasis on voltages and scientific notation. And if you just follow the recommended ESDA Standards, or are simply trying to be compliant, you without a doubt will overlook trade-offs that impact business; some operationally, some financially and some safety. And today, the topic we are concerned about is safety.

Hard Ground, Hard Truth

Hard grounds are a serious threat, dead(ly) serious. So what does that threat look like? It can be as innocent as an operator brushing up against, leaning against—or worse, clutching—a low resistance conductor with a path to ground. All it takes is a screw or bolt on a bench to create a circuit that shorts you to ground. Sure just touching a grounded conductor itself isn’t a safety issue. The missing ingredient that makes this a perilous concoction is electricity. Not static electricity, but the kind with amperes, and as the saying goes “current kills”.

But hey, this is why we have ESD wrist straps right? That’s the intention, and while they do provide a level of safety, it’s not true under all conditions. Because with the right mix of bad things, you are no longer protected by the resistor built into the ESD wrist strap or coil cord. Unaware, electrical shorts created by contact with hard grounds at the bench expose conditions where current could freely flow through your body.

All it takes is being in contact with a malfunctioning solder station, microscope, power tool, or any other piece of equipment that becomes electrified—and it’s game over! And this is why you need to be aware, at all times, of hard grounds and know the threats they pose.

So now that we understand what we are dealing with, let’s take a look at why the industry is failing you and how Botron has addressed this very serious threat. 

The Big Letdown

Most dual wire wrist strap monitors, including the ubiquitous 724, suffer from many shortcomings. One of which is intrinsic to their design, measuring only the resistance over a circuit: made by you, the wrist band and coil cord. So it’s either pass (on closed) or fail (on open).  And the most glaring and negligent side effect of this is the inability to detect or alert a hard ground fault. Thus, you are left under the pretense of being safely grounded in this hazardous condition. And this is the Elephant in the room EPA.

So what’s the solution? We monitor for hard ground faults, and this is one of the many features that sets the Sentinel apart.

Out With The Old, In With The New

So what does the Sentinel do that other ESD monitors don’t? Well, a lot of things, but for starters we’ve turned your everyday wrist strap into a sensor. And because of this—The Sentinel keeps a watchful eye on you, as the operator, monitoring your path to ground as you come in contact with the many grounded things in and around your ESD Protected Area—including hard grounds. These faults trigger events that not only alert you at the bench both visually and audibly—all data is captured and streamed in real-time to the ELITE DataSystems for remote monitoring.

In Summary

The Sentinel will allow you to understand more about your environment, creating awareness of exactly what hazards exist and how to avoid them. Monitoring wrist straps is part of ESDA Standards, but following the playbook doesn’t come with a guarantee. The ESD Protected Area is complicated, the safety risks therein aren’t always obvious. We changed the game with the ELITE ESD Test System, and we’ve done it again with the Sentinel, It’s time to rethink the equipment on your bench and move on to something more ELITE.

Looking for more info?

For more information on the ELITE Sentinel, or to get a web demo from a product expert, drop us a line. We look forward to hearing from you.

Tips to Help You Successfully Manage Your ESD Program Remotely

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You might assume that running an ESD Program from home would be all but impossible. But with the right systems in place, you can make the best out of an otherwise extremely limiting moment in time, managing to stay ahead and eventually coming out on top.

I recently had a chance to sit down (remotely) with Matt Jane, Staff Quality Engineer and ESD Program Manager at Tesla Inc., to discuss managing an ESD Program while working from home—and the challenges therein. While managing an ESD Program remotely is nothing out of the ordinary for many, including Matt, due to the current climate that has unfolded resulting in “shelter-in-place” restrictions, Matt and his team of ESD Technicians have had to put more emphasis on the methods and means which enable their program to continue running successfully. Together, we wanted to share the highlights of this discussion (and some secrets) with a broader audience on how you can overcome this new set of challenges by leveraging tools, time, and processes.

So let’s dive right in.

Communication

As an ESD Program Manager working remotely, it can be challenging to lead your team. Communication is key to the success of your remote strategy. Trust your process, get buy-in and encourage your team to stick to the plan. Start off on the right foot:

  • Have your remote strategy mapped out ASAP
  • Set actionable goals for you, the team and each member therein
  • Monitor progress by keeping on-going, regularly occurring meetings

Utilize collaborative software

In today’s world, there are a myriad of software platforms at our disposal that keep us not only connected, but on track. Matt and his team take an Agile approach, managing their goals in sprints, not uncommon for engineers like him. He utilizes collaborative platforms that keep engagement high, relevant, and accountable.

Tip 1.

If you haven’t done so, get your team digital, in the cloud and using a collaborative project management platform. And if you can’t work in the cloud, make sure you and your team all have remote access to your software platforms hosted on-site.

Software to help you manage projects:

Botron uses (free)

Matt uses (paid)

  • JIRA – For issue reporting and tracking
  • Confluence – For project planning and tracking

Other options include

Staying connected with your team

Don’t reach for email first, it’s exhaustingly slow. If you must, use email as the period at the end of your discussion that formalizes actionable plans. But if you’re relying on email to have discussions with internal team members you should know there are better options.

Tip 2.

Get your team on an Instant messaging application. IM’s are just that, instant, they enable your team to communicate with each other or as a group rapidly. And in many ways can be the most productive form of communication. Many messaging apps allow you to share photos, videos, files and more. As an ESD Program Manager, this flexibility allows you to collect necessary data points and provide accurate instructions more quickly than email.

For chat and video chat:

Botron uses

Matt uses

Other options include

Keep your team engaged

Keeping your team engaged while working from home is going to be a struggle at times. You’re going to face lapses and periods of silence throughout the day. You’ll need to figure out how to fill that time. And a good solution is to engage with your team using video conferencing tools such as GoTo, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom. However, while this helps you and your team members convey emotion and voice ideas and concerns. The question is—are you maximizing the full value this tool offers?

Tip 3. 

Leverage video conferencing tools for more than just meetings. Use it for ESD training, education and to plan and review your ESD Program. It’s the perfect platform to highlight the latest ESDA Standards, technical whitepapers, articles and stream instructional videos. You can record your presentations too, which is useful in many ways. 

Ideas Matt suggests:

Build an ESD Program that’s accessible remotely

Managing an ESD Program is highly technical and many of the actions underpinning this role require getting your hands dirty. But when you’re remote, not having the right equipment in place can lead to frustration and lengthy back and forth with your team. “Is it a red light, or green?” Is it beeping or not beeping?” If you’re having to ask these questions it’s almost certain you don’t have the right equipment in place. Working from home would be easier if your bench could be remote too.

Tip 4.

Equip your ESD Protected Area (EPA) with technology that enables remote virtual access. Matt and his team take advantage of Botron’s ELITE ESD Test System and Intelligent Ionizer, providing him with real time data on operational conditions. Additionally, delivering critical data into his hands expediently—wherever he is—at any time.

We suggest:

  • Your program should be data driven
  • Equip your EPA with devices that provide meaningful feedback and displaying actual measured values
  • Monitors that record data
  • Remotely accessible to view the status, events and location.

Botron Offers:

Finding your balance

The workplace is filled with distractions, but working from home doesn’t necessarily mean distraction free. In fact, it can present an entirely new set of distractions. In most cases you’re not the only one home. It’s important your team is aware of this, and you as the leader are aware of your team members’ work from home environment.  Working from home for an extended period is much different than a day or two here and there, or even just being accessible while away from the office. Simple things you take for granted, such as focusing your mind on the day ahead during your morning commute, keeping a full schedule of activities and communicating with your teams and individual contributors can be a shock to the system. 

Tip 5.

Avoiding potential pitfalls starts with developing a personal routine. Allow for some key moments in the work day where either you or your team members need time to tend to other obligations, such as caring for family members and child schooling.

  • Stick to your schedule, plan as if you are going into the office.
  • In the mornings, find a place that motivates you to take in the day ahead and set your goals and priorities.
  • Get out of the house, not only is this a time for planning and reflecting, the act of leaving the house and entering the workplace will mentally put you in gear, so approach your home office the same way.
  • Create a space that’s quiet and motivates you to get work done, away from the household distractions

Closing

The challenges of working remotely have become easier to navigate and stay productive. With these tips you can continue to run your ESD Program as smooth as butter. Our goal is to share our success with the hope it benefits your remote strategy. We would love to hear what you and your team are using and if you have other suggestions drop us a note!

Keep Employees Safe From Germs When ESD Testing

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ESD Test Equipment can be a hotbed for germs. So what precautions can you take during cold and flu season to help prevent the spread of germs?

It doesn’t matter how many people you have on the floor, as little as 10 or over a thousand, or how many shifts you run, 1 or 3. The fact is, your ESD tester see’s a lot of action! During cold and flu season the need to cut down on germ transmission is very important, and in years such as this, COVID-19 presents very complex issues. How do we remain compliant yet protect personnel?

One of the problems we face comes down to the equipment we’ve chosen. Dummy, “go-no-go” test equipment comes with very restrictive parameters. Meaning, the failure limits cannot be adjusted. So typically you’re stuck with a high fail for a wrist strap in the neighborhood of 9M-12.5M, roughly. But why would this matter?

Let’s contrast the aforementioned “dummy” ESD tester, with the ELITE ESD Test System. Applications change for many reasons, but typically because of device sensitivity. However, in a complex situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, our application needs to change quickly and for atypical factors. And this leads us to our first preventative tip.

ESD Testing with Nitrile Gloves
Did you know your ELITE can test wrist straps and footwear with personnel wearing Nitrile gloves? Nitrile gloves can help prevent the spread of germs and contamination. Top that off with their natural ESD properties, this makes a great option for you and your organization, to help personnel feel safer while remaining compliant.

You don’t need any additional equipment, in fact, you don’t even need to change your processes, retrain anyone, or make large amendments to your control program. All you need to do is click a few settings in the ELITE WebUI and you are all set.

On the Test Settings page found in the ELITE WebUI you will need to make just a few quick adjustments. The first feature we want to enable is Instant Test. What Instant Test will do is force your ELITE to test the moment a badge is scanned or ID is entered. Enable this.

The second thing we want to adjust is the Wrist Strap High Fail parameter. Go ahead and change the High Fail limit to something around 25M. Why 25M? Well, you can choose what’s best for you and your application, but Nitrile gloves will add resistance to the test circuit, and this could be anywhere around 5-15M Ohms. This will not impact the operators path to ground, it’s just to accommodate for the added resistance of the Nitrile.

If you want to be extra safe, adjust your Pass High setting too.

Contact Free ID
We want to limit touch points. Keypads, if used for badging in, are high touch points! If you, like many customers have a secondary ID interface such as barcode or RFID, think about disabling the keypad and enable all personnel to only use contactless forms of ID.

You can disable your keypad on the ELITE in the WebUI. Let your employees and fellow co-workers know the keypad has been disabled and to no longer use it. Better yet, cover it up!

What if you’ve purchased a Keypad only ELITE? Well, all ELITE Complete ESD Test Systems have Wiegand and Serial interfaces for connecting external readers.Think about using an extra reader from around the facility, or contact Botron and we can help you out.

Taking these precautions leaves you well on your way to making everyone feel safer and showing your team you have taken every safety measure you can.

Everyday Precautions
Now not everyone has an ELITE, I’m not sure why, but there are a few simple, common sense things we can all do to prevent the spreading of germs and the contamination thereof.

A few things you can do to increase safety is to supply hand sanitizer before and after an ESD test station. Allowing personnel to clean their hands free of germs prior to testing and after or placing sanitizing wipes which allows them to clean the test switch or anything they might come in contact with. This is a simple to implement action that provides a sense of comfort and safety for personnel, and a proven way to stop the spread of germs.

Keep Your Distance
ESD test stations can have long queues of people waiting to test. Sometimes these lines can take over 15 minutes to process. Make sure, at minimum, you follow CDC guidelines for social distancing personnel, at this time they recommend 6’ of space. These are uncomfortable times, and personal space is more so important than it ever has been. Make sure your team members are respecting the safety of others and help prevent not only the spread of germs but tensions and anxiety.

So that’s it, just a few simple things you can do to help make the workplace a little more safe while remaining compliant. We wish you all the best health, and all the best success.

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