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ESD audit checklist

An ESD audit checklist is the form used to check that an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protected area, or EPA, and the program behind it are working. It confirms that people are grounded, work surfaces and tools are bonded to ground, sensitive parts move in the right packaging, and the records prove it. This one follows the structure of ANSI/ESD S20.20, the ESD Association standard for an ESD control program, which has an administrative part (the program plan, training, product qualification and compliance verification) and a technical part (grounding, personnel grounding, the EPA, packaging and marking). It has 29 checks in five groups, and it keeps the daily checks operators make at the start of each shift apart from the periodic verification an auditor or ESD coordinator makes with a meter. The standard's limits and test methods are not repeated here: enter the ones your own program plan sets. The Excel file adds a daily test log, a verification log that flags readings over the limit, and a worked example.

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Page 1 of the ESD audit checklistHeader fields for the EPA, auditor and date above a table of checks, first the daily start of shift checks and then program and records, each with Pass, Fail and N/A circles and a finding column.
29 checks in five groupsDaily checks kept apartProgram and recordsGrounding and workstationsEPA, flooring and garmentsPackaging and markingVerification logPass rateWorked example
Filled-in ESD audit checklist: a monthly audit of a 12-station solder cell
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 4 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use an ESD audit checklist

  • Monthly or quarterly in each EPA, as an internal audit of the ESD control program.
  • Before a customer or registrar audit that will look at ESD control on the line.
  • After a move, a new line or a new bench layout, when ground cords and mats get disturbed.
  • When test failures or field returns point at ESD damage and you need to know where the program has gaps.
  • Every shift, using only the first group, as the operators' start of shift check.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Agree the scope and the limits

    Name the EPA and the workstations in it. Copy the limits and test methods for each item from your ESD control program plan into the verification log, so every reading is judged against your own numbers.

  2. 2

    Check the daily records first

    Open the wrist strap and footwear test logs for the period. Count the tests that should be there, the tests logged and the fails, and check that each fail has an action and a retest.

  3. 3

    Walk the EPA

    Go station by station and watch people work: is the strap on bare skin, is the cord plugged in, are insulators kept away, do parts leave in shielding bags?

  4. 4

    Measure what the plan says to measure

    Use calibrated meters to check work surfaces, ground points, ionizers and tools on the schedule in your compliance verification plan. Record every reading, not only the fails.

  5. 5

    Mark each check Pass, Fail or N/A

    Write what you saw for every fail and give it an action, an owner and a date. Use N/A only for items the area does not have, such as ionizers where the plan does not call for them.

  6. 6

    Report and follow up

    Pass rate = Pass ÷ (Pass + Fail). Share it with the area, close the actions and check them again at the next audit.

On the floor

The daily test, and what happens on a fail

The daily group stays apart from the periodic audit: each operator tests before work, every shift, and the audit checks that the log is complete.

  1. 1Operator, start of shift

    Test strap and footwear

    At the tester, before handling parts, and log the result.
  2. 2Decision

    Pass?

    Yes:
    log it and start work
    No:
    fix it and retest before handling parts
  3. 3Same shift

    New strap, retest

    In the example, 3 failed tests each had a new strap and a passing retest.
  4. 4Monthly audit

    Check the log

    Tests due against tests logged: 106 of 110 in the example week.

Two kinds of check

Daily ESD checks vs periodic verification

The checklist keeps them apart because different people make them, with different tools, and a fail means something different.

  • Who makes them

    Daily checks
    Each operator, or the line leader
    Periodic verification
    The ESD coordinator or a trained auditor
  • When

    Daily checks
    At the start of each shift and on entering the EPA
    Periodic verification
    On the schedule in the compliance verification plan, often monthly to yearly by item
  • What is checked

    Daily checks
    The person's own wrist strap and footwear, the station's cords, ionizers running, no insulators on the bench
    Periodic verification
    Work surfaces, floors, seating and ground points, ionizer balance and discharge time, tools, packaging, training and records
  • Equipment

    Daily checks
    A wrist strap and footwear tester at the EPA entrance
    Periodic verification
    Calibrated meters and the test methods your plan names
  • Record

    Daily checks
    The daily test log
    Periodic verification
    The verification log and this checklist
  • When it fails

    Daily checks
    No handling of sensitive parts until the strap or footwear passes a retest
    Periodic verification
    Take the item out of use or fix it, then decide whether parts handled since the last good reading are at risk

What's on the checklist

The 29 checks on the ESD audit checklist

The first group is the daily check made at the start of each shift; the other four are the periodic audit. On the sheet each check is Pass, Fail or N/A, with a finding, an action, an owner and a date for every fail.

Daily checks at the start of each shift

Operator or line leader, every shift

  1. 1Each operator tests the wrist strap on the tester before work and the result is logged
  2. 2Each person tests footwear or heel grounders on entry and the result is logged
  3. 3Wrist straps are worn snug on bare skin and the cord is plugged into the workstation ground point
  4. 4Mat and work surface ground cords are connected and not damaged
  5. 5Ionizers the workstation needs are switched on and running
  6. 6No plastic cups, bags, foam or loose paper sit on the ESD work surface

Program and records

The administrative part of the program

  1. 7A written ESD control program plan covers this area and names the program coordinator
  2. 8The plan states the sensitivity of the parts it was written to protect
  3. 9Everyone who handles sensitive parts was trained before starting and is current on refresher training
  4. 10A compliance verification plan says what is measured, how and how often, and the schedule is being kept
  5. 11Daily wrist strap and footwear test logs are complete for the period audited
  6. 12Every failed test and out of limit reading has a recorded action and a retest

Grounding and workstations

Periodic verification against the limits in your plan

  1. 13Every workstation has a common point ground connected to equipment ground
  2. 14Work surface resistance to ground was measured on schedule and is within the plan limit
  3. 15Wrist strap cords and continuous monitors were checked on schedule
  4. 16Soldering irons and powered hand tools are grounded and were checked on schedule
  5. 17Ionizers were checked for balance and discharge time on schedule and are within limits
  6. 18Carts, shelves and racks that hold sensitive parts are grounded or dissipative
  7. 19Insulators needed for the job are kept at the distance the plan sets, or neutralized with an ionizer

Protected area, flooring and garments

The EPA itself

  1. 20The EPA boundary is marked and every entrance has a sign
  2. 21Only trained people, or escorted visitors who are grounded, are inside the EPA
  3. 22ESD flooring and seating that form part of the grounding system were verified on schedule
  4. 23ESD garments are worn closed, and grounded where the plan requires it
  5. 24Seated operators are grounded through a wrist strap, not footwear alone

Packaging, handling and marking

How sensitive parts move

  1. 25Sensitive parts leave the EPA only in closed shielding packaging
  2. 26Totes, trays and bins inside the EPA are the types the plan allows
  3. 27Shielding bags are not torn, punctured or creased past the plan rule for reuse
  4. 28Packages and storage locations that hold sensitive parts are marked
  5. 29Incoming sensitive parts are opened only inside an EPA

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): a monthly audit of a made-up hand solder and rework cell with 12 workstations and 22 operators, covering one week of daily logs. The same audit is page 4 of the PDF and the Example sheet of the Excel file.

The example audit and the week's daily tests

  • Pass: 24 checks
  • Fail: 4 checks
  • N/A: 1 check
  1. Wrist strap tests logged (22 operators × 5 days)106 of 110

    4 night shift entries missing; 3 tests failed and were retested

  2. Work surfaces within the plan limit11 of 12

    Station 7: mat cord unplugged when the bench moved

29 checks: 24 pass, 4 fail, 1 not applicable, a pass rate of 85.7 percent. Wrist strap tests: 106 of 110 logged. Work surfaces: 11 of 12 within the plan limit.

Illustrative. Pass rate 24 ÷ 28 = 85.7%. The N/A is the ionizer check: the cell has no ionizers.
  • Checks: 29. 24 pass, 4 fail and 1 is N/A (the cell has no ionizers, so there is nothing to verify). Pass rate 24 ÷ 28 = 85.7%.
  • Daily test log: 22 operators × 5 days = 110 wrist strap tests due, 106 logged (96.4%). 3 tests failed, 2.8% of those logged, and each has a new strap and a passing retest.
  • Work surfaces: 12 measured, 1 over the plan limit. Station 7's mat cord had been unplugged when the bench was moved; it was refitted and passed the same day.
  • The other fails: a plain plastic stores tote holding two boards, creased and taped shielding bags reused at rework, and 4 missing night shift log entries.

Two fails were closed on the day and two are open with owners. The finding that matters most is the tote and the bags: parts were leaving protection between stores and the bench, so the stores route goes on the next audit too.

Common mistakes

  • Only checking wrist straps

    Strap logs are the easy part. Many gaps are in packaging, insulators on the bench and benches moved without reconnecting the mat.

  • Limits nobody checked

    Copy the limits from your program plan, not from a supplier leaflet or another site's sheet, and use the test method the plan names.

  • Recording only the fails

    A verification log with only fails cannot show a reading drifting toward the limit. Record every reading.

  • Ungrounded visitors

    Maintenance, engineers and auditors walk into the EPA too. Give them heel grounders or keep them away from sensitive parts.

  • No action on a failed daily test

    A failed strap test should stop the person handling parts until a retest passes. If the log shows fails with no retest, the daily check is only paperwork.

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FAQ

ESD audit checklist: common questions

  1. It is the ESD Association standard for setting up and running an ESD control program to protect electronic parts, assemblies and equipment. It has administrative requirements, such as a written program plan, a training plan and a compliance verification plan, and technical requirements for grounding, personnel grounding, the protected area, packaging and marking. Get the current edition from the ESD Association for its limits and test methods.

  2. It is a marked area where sensitive parts can be handled out of their packaging because people, surfaces and tools are grounded and insulators are controlled. Only trained people, or grounded visitors under escort, should handle parts inside it.

  3. A written program plan with a named coordinator, training for everyone who handles sensitive parts, a compliance verification plan, grounding for people and workstations, a marked protected area, packaging rules and marking. This checklist has a group of checks for each.

  4. Daily checks happen every shift. Periodic verification of each item follows the schedule in your compliance verification plan, and many plants audit each EPA monthly or quarterly. Audit more often after moves, new lines or failures that point at ESD damage.

  5. No. It supports internal audits beside your own ESD control program plan, and it does not make a site compliant with ANSI/ESD S20.20 or certify it. Where a customer asks for certification, an outside registrar audits the site against the current edition of the standard.

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