Electro static discharges
August 1st 2003

Electro Static Discharges Dave Pinder of The Butcher Company explains how this growing floorcare problem can be resolved Once a fairly rare phenomenon, Electro Static Discharges are becoming more and more frequent. Whats more theyre no longer confined to the electronic type industries but are spreading to retail, hospitals and the office sectors. Regular floorcare systems are usually ineffective in these environments because they insulate the floors. What is needed are systems which dissipate the charges. So what is ESD? Static electricity can damage just about any electronic equipment, some of which by as little as 30 volts. But we dont usually feel a zap from a discharge until 3500-4000 volts. So often we dont know the damage weve done. What causes it? Well we all cause it. By running a comb through our hair or two pieces of clothing clinging together! After walking across a floor of any type or travelling in a car; from vinyl envelopes with work instructions, from a foam padded chair. Relative humidity plays a key role. The higher the humidity, the harder it is to generate static as moisture conducts electricity. Hence the increase in air conditioned premises and dry air means an increase in the risk of static. A key problem area is the production line involving the manufacture of electronic components or anything containing a microchip. As each computer system can have up to twenty circuit boards and each circuit board might contain up to 300 micro chips, detecting a defective chip, when the circuit board is tested, can be compared to looking for a needle in a haystack. It is cheaper to jettison the faulty board than spend time trying to detect and isolate the defective component. Another problem area today includes those healthcare facilities operating sophisticated high tech equipment such as scanners. Floors must be able to draw static so that medical staff operating the machines cant damage any sensitive and costly to repair and replace electronics. Retail and office environments due to the dry air are becoming more prevalent to static discharges. Why? Because the fashion for high quality, synthetic flooring (wood, marble effect and so on) which, typically made from a dense pvc just like the covering on electric cabling, is very insulative. In the US, it is estimated that ESD is costing around ten million dollars annually in lost production. And as technology progresses, these costs will escalate. Protected systems are almost impossible to build so the only obvious option is to identify the best available preventative measures. Conductive floors is one such measure. But they are not without problems themselves. The capital outlay is almost four times more than a normal vinyl flooring and frequently there is no more than a five year guarantee to the floors performance. Appearance deteriorates considerably with age plus the floors become ineffective if not cleaned correctly as a soil or detergent film acts as an insulator. Controlling the humidity, anti-static sprays, adequate grounding and protective handling can all go someway to helping an ESD prevention programme. By themselves, none provide an answer to the static problem and each has its limitations. But the most effective and least costly method of prevention is a static dissipative floorcare system. One of the primary benefits of such a protected flooring system is its flexibility; practically any synthetic floor surface can be converted into an ESD protected surface by scrubbing or stripping and apply a static dissipative finish. The end result is a consistent level of protection which can be quickly and easily restored. Butchers anti static floorcare products include floor finish Discharge and companion cleaner, Ground Out. Both contain an ingredient called Avetran which draws moisture from the atmosphere to allow floors to dissipate any charge in hundredths of a second. Easy to apply Discharge is extremely durable, anti-slip and leaves a high gloss. Neutral Ground Out cleaner is an economical maintenance product which actively augments the dissipative performance of the floorcare system. In high traffic areas, its a good idea to use Butchers Overdrive with a Legend pad to enhance the floors gloss and durability. Installed in many electronic environments, the Butchers products are playing a part in reducing static discharges and hence eliminating wastage. In retail situations where customers receive uncomfortable shocks from touching shelving, Discharge and Ground Out are doing much to leave floors brighter and increase customer comfort.

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