Wie wird ein System aus Person, Schuhwerk und ESD-Bodenbelag validiert?

You validate it in two stages: qualify the footwear and flooring combination, then verify it stays compliant in use. Under ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021, qualification needs system resistance below 1.0 × 10⁹ Ω and walking body voltage below 100 V. Both must pass.

A single static discharge can damage a sensitive component without any visible sign. The part may pass final test and fail later in the field. That is why personnel grounding needs measured proof. Shoes and floors can each look fine alone and still fail as a system, because charge generation depends on how the materials work with the person who walks on them. Validation gives you data for the exact combination you use. This guide is for facility managers, EHS officers, QA auditors, and electronics manufacturing engineers. It follows ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021 and IEC 61340-5-1:2024. It is a practical overview, not a replacement for the full test methods in the standards.

First, here is what the system includes.

What Is a Person-Footwear-ESD Flooring System?

It is the complete path that grounds an operator: the person, the ESD footwear, and the ESD floor connected to ground. It must drain charge and keep walking charge low.

Walking can generate static charge through contact and separation between the shoe sole, the floor, and clothing. The system has two jobs. It must drain charge from the body to ground, and it must avoid building up high body voltage. A resistance test checks the first job. A walking voltage test checks the second.

The Three Parts

Teil	Rolle	Was kann schiefgehen?
Person	Carries and generates charge	Insulating clothing, dry skin, poor contact with the shoe
Schuhe	Connects the person to the floor	Wear, dirt, wrong material, wrong shoe type
ESD flooring	Provides the path to ground	Surface contamination, wear, poor grounding connection

The measured result belongs to the whole combination. It is not a simple sum of three separate readings.

Next, the standards set the limits.

Which Standards and Limits Apply?

ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021 and IEC 61340-5-1 both require system resistance below 1.0 × 10⁹ Ω and body voltage below 100 V. They judge body voltage in different ways.

Use the edition that your customer or auditor requires. Both standards share one goal, but the details differ.

Qualification Limits Compared

Artikel	ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021	IEC 61340-5-1:2024
System resistance	< 1.0 × 10⁹ Ω	< 1.0 × 10⁹ Ω
Body voltage	Peak below 100 V	Average of the absolute values of the five highest peaks below 100 V
Resistance method	ANSI/ESD STM97.1	IEC 61340-4-5
Body voltage method	ANSI/ESD STM97.2	IEC 61340-4-5

Check Table 2 of the IEC edition you use to confirm the method references.

You may also see 3.5 × 10⁷ Ω in older footwear and flooring guidance. Older S20.20 editions allowed that limit to skip the body voltage test. Under ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021, footwear and flooring qualification requires both the resistance test and the walking body voltage test. The 3.5 × 10⁷ Ω limit now applies mainly to wrist strap systems.

These limits apply at two stages, and the difference matters.

What Is the Difference Between Qualification and Routine Compliance Verification?

Qualification proves a footwear and flooring combination meets the standard. Compliance verification checks that the installed system keeps meeting your ESD control program over time.

Teams often mix these up. Routine footwear checks do not qualify a system. A one-time walking test does not prove the floor stays in range for years. You need both.

Two Stages

Bühne	Zweck	Main Content
Product qualification	Prove the combination meets the standard	System resistance and walking body voltage
Compliance verification	Confirm the system keeps performing in use	Checks of footwear, floor, grounding, and records at set intervals

Routine compliance verification follows the documented ESD control program. Footwear and flooring are checked at defined intervals, using the applicable methods and limits (ESD TR53 for S20.20 programs, IEC TS 61340-5-4 for IEC programs). These checks do not replace initial system qualification. Your verification limits come from your qualification data and the requirements of the standard.

Before any test, you need to prepare.

How Do You Prepare for System Validation?

Confirm the standard and edition, list every footwear and floor combination in use, check instrument calibration, and set the test conditions. Prepare the record sheet before you start.

Poor preparation can lead to invalid test results. Work through this list first.

Preparation Checklist

• Standard and edition: Write down the exact standard, such as ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021 or IEC 61340-5-1:2024.
• Test method versions: Use the current edition of each test method. For example, ANSI/ESD STM97.1-2025 is the latest resistance method. Make sure the versions match your control program.
• Combinations to test: List each shoe type and floor type used on site. An ESD shoe and a heel grounder are different footwear systems, and each needs its own qualification.
• Instruments: Use meters and walking test equipment that meet the cited method. Check that calibration is current.
• Conditions: Follow the temperature and humidity conditioning in the method. IEC product qualification typically uses (12 ± 3) % relative humidity and (23 ± 2) °C, so confirm the values in your edition. Record the actual values.
• Record sheet: Prepare it before testing so no data is lost.

With the setup ready, the first test measures resistance.

How Is Person-Footwear-Flooring Resistance Tested?

A person stands on the ESD floor in the real footwear, holds an electrode in the palm, and the meter measures resistance to ground. The result must be below 1.0 × 10⁹ Ω.

This is the system resistance test from ANSI/ESD STM97.1. IEC 61340-4-5 covers the same measurement for IEC programs. It checks the full path through the person, the footwear, and the floor.

Test Overview

1. Connect the meter to the ground point as the method requires.
2. Have the person stand on the floor wearing the footwear under test.
3. Place the electrode in the person’s hand as the method specifies.
4. Apply the test voltage that the method requires and read the value.
5. Repeat at several floor locations, including heavy-traffic areas and each floor zone.
6. Record every reading.

This list is a summary. Run the actual test by following the full method, because it defines the electrodes, the test voltage, and the number of measurements. Also note any result close to the limit, because it leaves little room for change over time.

Resistance does not show how much charge the walk creates, so the second test measures body voltage.

How Is Walking Body Voltage Tested?

A person walks on the floor in the footwear while a walking-voltage test setup measures body voltage. Use ANSI/ESD STM97.2 or IEC 61340-4-5. Judge the result by the rule of the standard you use.

This test checks charge generation. A floor and shoe can both show acceptable resistance and still produce higher body voltage because of the material pair. That is why S20.20 requires both tests for qualification.

Test Overview

1. Use a walking-voltage measurement system that meets the cited method.
2. Connect the test person to the instrument as the method describes.
3. Have the person walk the prescribed pattern.
4. Record the voltage during the walk.
5. Judge the result by the rule of your standard:

Standard	How the Result Is Judged
ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021	Peak body voltage below 100 V
IEC 61340-5-1	Average of the absolute values of the five highest peaks below 100 V

Do not use a general-purpose instrument unless it meets the cited method. The method defines the setup, the walking pattern, and how to read the result.

Once both tests are done, you can make the pass or fail decision.

How Do You Determine Whether the System Passes?

The system passes only when both the resistance result and the body voltage result meet the limits of the applicable standard. Judge each footwear and floor combination on its own.

1. Confirm the standard, edition, and exact combination.
2. Measure system resistance.
3. Measure walking body voltage.
4. Compare each result with the limit in the standard.
5. If both pass, record the data and approve the combination.
6. If either fails, record it, find the cause, and retest after the fix.

A pass for one shoe type does not carry over to another shoe type or floor.

A system that passes can still fail later, so the causes need attention.

Why Might a Footwear-Flooring System Fail?

Common causes include dirty or worn footwear, floor contamination, a poor ground connection, installation defects, and mismatched materials. Test conditions can also change the reading.

Find the specific cause before you change the shoe or the floor.

Common Causes and Checks

Ursache	Was ist zu prüfen?
Worn or dirty footwear	Clean or replace the shoe and retest
Dirty floor or cleaning residue	Remove residue with a suitable cleaner and retest
Poor ground connection	Check the ground point and all connections
Installation issues	Check adhesive coverage, seams, and grounding layout against the manufacturer’s instructions
Material mismatch	Test other shoe and floor combinations
Testbedingungen	Compare temperature and humidity with the method

Floor construction also matters. In a homogeneous conductive or dissipative PVC floor, the electrical properties run through the wear layer, so performance depends less on a thin surface coating. That is a design advantage, not a guarantee. Contamination, installation, and grounding still affect results, so test data should confirm performance. Early design talks with the flooring manufacturer help avoid these problems.

After qualification, the work shifts to keeping the system in range.

How Is Compliance Maintained After Qualification?

Follow the verification plan in your ESD control program: check footwear and floor at set intervals, keep ground connections intact, clean with suitable products, and requalify when the system changes.

Wichtige Praktiken

• Footwear and floor checks: Follow the intervals, methods, and limits in your plan. Set the limits from your qualification data.
• Periodic body voltage testing: Test walking body voltage from time to time to confirm the qualified system still controls voltage generation.
• Grounding: Follow the flooring manufacturer’s approved grounding design. Depending on the system, this may include conductive adhesive, copper grounding strips, or other parts. Check the connections and the finished floor resistance after installation.
• Reinigung: Use cleaners approved for ESD floors and avoid products that leave an insulating film.
• Requalification: Repeat qualification when you change the footwear type, the floor material, or the grounding design.

Records tie all of this together.

What Should Be Included in the Validation Report?

Record the footwear and floor models, the standard and edition, the instruments and calibration data, the conditions, the test locations, the raw readings, the limits, and the final decision.

An auditor should be able to repeat your test from the report and reach the same result.

Report Contents

Artikel	Was soll aufgezeichnet werden?
Combination tested	Footwear model, floor model, and grounding method
Standard and methods	Standard name, edition, and test method versions
Instruments	Model, serial number, and calibration due date
Conditions	Temperature and relative humidity
Test locations	Floor zones and measurement points
Raw readings	Resistance and voltage values for each test
Grenzen	Pass limits used for each result
Test personnel	Names of the tester and the test subject
Ergebnis	Pass or fail, and any corrective action

Incomplete records can lead to audit findings even when the readings are good.

Schlussfolgerung

Qualify each footwear and floor combination with resistance and walking voltage tests. Then verify it on schedule, and keep complete records.

Standards and References

• ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021, Table 2 (personnel grounding)
• IEC 61340-5-1:2024, Table 2 and Table 3
• ANSI/ESD STM97.1 (current edition), footwear/flooring resistance in combination with a person
• ANSI/ESD STM97.2 (current edition), footwear/flooring voltage measurement in combination with a person
• IEC 61340-4-5:2018, footwear and flooring in combination with a person
• ESD TR53 and IEC TS 61340-5-4, compliance verification

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Über den Autor

I am a production manager at an ESD flooring manufacturer. My experience covers PVC ESD flooring production, material selection, and design optimization for custom and bulk orders. System qualification testing is done by qualified test laboratories or in-house ESD coordinators, and I work with them to solve grounding, wear, and material issues early in the design stage.

Need help planning your ESD flooring project? Send me a direct message. I am happy to review your floor design, grounding layout, or test plan with you.