The authors of a recent article in InCompliance Magazine titled Early Life Failure of Dissipative Workstation Mats, have confirmed that Desco’s Statfree® T2 was the top performing worksurface mat (Mat ID#4 in the article) in their study. To read the rest of the article click HERE
Part of any good ESD Control Program is periodic verification of the specs of products being used for the ESD Control Plan. The most obvious example of periodic testing is when operators test their foot grounders or wrist straps before entering an ESD Protected Area. The ESD Association’s ESD TR53-01-06 Compliance Verification of ESD Protective Equipment and Materials describes the test methods and instrumentation that can be used to periodically verify the performance of ESD protective equipment and materials. Plexus Manufacturing Solutions in Neenah, WI noticed during periodic verification of their workstation mats, that the mats were drifting out of spec and wanted to determine what was causing the mats to fail. Through their in house tests, they concluded that:
- A solid ESD control program including compliance verification periodic testing with data collection provides valuable and useful information.
- Factory fluorescent lighting, likely from ultraviolet (UV) radiation, can have a measurable effect on the electrical properties of ESD dissipative mats over time.
- Different mats tolerate or resist the effects of factory fluorescent lighting.
- Since this experiment did not take into account lot to lot variation at the supplier for each mat P/N, future mats purchased will require lot traceability information to be stamped on the bottom of the roll, every 3 feet minimum
- The ESD Association technical report ESD TR4.0-01-02 Worksurfaces and Grounding Survey should consider adding ultraviolet light resistance as a property to consider in the Worksurface Selection Guide.
Desco’s Statfree® T2 mats include Ultraviolet (UV) stabilizer additives in the mat formula to stabilize color retention, ensure ESD performance over time and eliminate surface layer deterioration resulting in cracking when the product is flexed. Additionally, we mark lot traceability information on the bottom of the roll every 3 feet to provide tracking information for lifespan of the product and to ensure quality control.