Something lots of employees might interact with every day is ESD Test Equipment, which means your test gear may be a hotbed for germs. In a standard year, we have to take safety measures to keep employees safe during cold and flu season to aid prevent germs spread- but what about now for the period of COVID?
The bottom line is, it doesn't matter how many people you have on the floor- The fact is, your ESD tester will observe a fair bit of use. During cold and flu season and particularly during these hyper-aware times, we badly feel the need to cut down on germ transmission. How do we remain compliant yet defend 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. Why would this matter?
Let’s take the “dummy” ESD tester, with the ELITE ESD Test System. Applications modify for many reasons, but usually because of device sensitivity. However, in a difficult situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, our application needs to adjust quickly and atypical factors. And this leads us to our first pre-emptive tip.
ESD Testing with Nitrile Gloves
Did you identify your ELITE can test wrist straps and footwear with personnel wearing Nitrile gloves? Nitrile gloves can help avoid the spread of germs and contamination. Top that off with their natural ESD properties; this makes an excellent option for you and your organization to help personnel feel safer while remaining compliant.
You don't require any additional equipment. You don't even need to modify your processes, retrain anyone, or make wide amendments to your control program. All you require 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 rapid adjustments. The first feature we want to enable is the 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 decide 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. It will not impact the operator's path to ground. It's just to accommodate for the added resistance of the Nitrile.
If you desire to be extra safe, regulate your High Pass setting too.
Contact Free ID Systems
We would like to limit touchpoints. Keypads, if used for badging in, are high touchpoints! If you, like many clients, have a secondary ID interface such as barcode or RFID, think about disabling the keypad and enable all personnel only to use contactless forms of ID.
You can stop your keypad on the ELITE in the WebUI. Let your employees and 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 just 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.
Normal 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.
You can do a few things to boost safety is to supply hand sanitizer before and after an ESD test station. Allowing personnel to clean their hands-free germs before testing and after or placing sanitizing wipes allows them to clean the test switch or anything they might come in contact with. It is easy to implement action that provides a sense of comfort and safety for personnel, and a proven way to prevent the spread of germs.
Remember to Keep Your Distance
ESD test stations could have long queues of the group waiting to test. Sometimes these lines can take over 15 minutes to process. Make sure, at a minimum; you follow CDC guidelines for social distancing workers; at this time, they recommend 6' of space. These are rough times, and personal space is more so significant than it ever has been. Ensure your team members respect the safety of others and help prevent the spread of germs and tensions and anxiety.