After day one

A floor drifts out of range without ever looking different

This is the part that catches facilities out. Resistance moves with wear, with what gets applied to the surface, and with age, and none of it is visible. A floor can look perfect and fail a resistance test. That gap is exactly why STM7.1 and STM97.1 measurement exists instead of a visual check^[2].

under 1.0 x 10^9ohmsANSI/ESD STM97.1

15 to 20mg weight lossASTM D4060

lowest annual RH the facility experiencescondition, not a fixed percentageIEC 61340-5-1:2024

Get a quote The standards

Keeping a floor in range

01

Wax and finish are the usual culprit

Anything applied on top of the system sits between the floor and the ground path. A well meant cleaning contract can take a qualified floor out of range in a month, and nobody connects the two until the audit.

02

Abrasion thins the system

Cart wheels, pallet jacks and pivot points wear the coat down. Thickness affects resistance, so the highest traffic lanes are where a floor goes out of band first.

03

Humidity moves the reading

Resistance responds to humidity, which is why IEC 61340-5-1:2024 lets a facility qualify at its own lowest annual relative humidity rather than a fixed benchmark^[18]. A floor that passed in August can read differently in February.

04

Reverification is a schedule, not an event

ESD TR53 is the technical report for compliance verification of control items already in service^[17]. Your program document sets how often. A floor qualified once and never rechecked is an assumption.

05

Clean it the way the system expects

Neutral cleaner, no film forming products, no wax unless the system is specified to carry one. Write it into the cleaning contract, because the cleaning crew will not read your ESD program.

06

Watch the ground connections

The floor can be perfect and the tie to building ground can have been disturbed by other work. Point to ground readings catch this, and point to point readings alone do not.

Questions

How often should an ESD floor be retested?

Your own program document sets the cadence, written to ANSI/ESD S20.20^[1], and ESD TR53 gives the methods^[17]. Auditors typically want to see both the schedule and the results, not just a day one certificate.

Our floor failed a retest. Does it need replacing?

Not necessarily. Find out what changed first: a finish applied on top, a disturbed ground connection, or genuine wear are three very different answers with three different costs. Repair and recoat options.

Can we use normal floor cleaner?

Neutral cleaners generally yes, film forming products and wax generally no. Anything that leaves a layer on top is a layer between the floor and ground.

Can an existing floor be tested to see if it still passes?

Yes, that is exactly what STM7.1 point to point and point to ground readings^[2] and an STM97.1 system measurement^[3] are for. It is also the cheapest way to find out whether you have a problem at all.