EPA (ESD Protected Area) Consultations

An area which is ESD-protected is called EPA (ESD Protected Area). Theoretically, any item in an EPA must not create any risk to ESDS (ESD-sensitive devices).

ESD-protection in these areas is achieved, primarily, by special equipment. Nowadays without any special efforts different types of ESD-protective equipment can be found. Most companies just resell these goods, buying them either from the European manufacturers (thus these goods are of a good quality but cost a lot) or from numerous South-Eastern Asia suppliers (here the situation is vice versa). Luckily, in Russia there are companies with own plants, where some elements of ESD-protection are produced, e.g. industrial furniture and ESD-protected floor surface.

The second (but not less important) aspect or ESD-protection in EPAs is a code of rules which includes staff conduct regulations and high tech production standards. The creation and implementation of an ESD control program may seem easy: it is necessary only to state what must, should and can do an employee and what is prohibited in EPAs.

And this is the point where implementing ESD control program companies start hesitating in the correctness of their choice as well as experiencing difficulties in satisfying standards internal instructions creation.

 ESD Expert LLC can offer professional help to solve problems which arise during ESD control program implementation. It can be done by a service “Consultation on an ESD control program implementation” – a list of written recommendations which can be immediately used as an internal instruction

 To create the most suitable ESD control program for your company we must get beforehand the following data:

• drawings of the facility where EPA will be organized;
• formal description of working processes to understand ESDS transfer routes, processing and storage places.

 When the above-mentioned service is done you get:

• a list detailed recommendations considering reliable ESD protection items which proved their quality during numerous audits and specifications of some models;
• information about how to connect ESD-protective elements to earth path correctly, as well as how to avoid mistakes while interconnecting ESD-protective «basics»;
• a code of personnel’ regulations in EPA with a detailed description what must and must not be done and what is up to them;
• understanding which instruments are essential to ESD monitoring;
• information about the regularity of antistatic measurements checks;
• a potential to analyze measurements with a recommendation which figures of the ESD control program need to be considered first of all;
• a capability to implement the ESD control program in the system of quality management and understanding its benefits;
• a possibility to update your ESD control program on-the-fly in case of ESD standards change.