Statguard Flooring - Questions And Answers

If static-dissipative table mats are grounded through a resistor of 1 Megohm (for the safety of the operator) then wouldn't this preclude placing 'hard grounded' objects, like test equipment, directly on the mat? - Anonymous, Parsippany, NJ

Yes, by placing the conductive part of any directly grounded equipment on a dissipative mat would negate the personal safety benefits of the 1 megohm serial discrete resistor in the ground cord. The 1 megohm discrete resistor placed in some ground cords is an option and not mandatory. The ESD Association recommends using a hard ground (< 1 ohm), but leaves the 1 megohm resistance as an option for the user. So the decision is yours, if your company's policy is to ground work bench surfaces with a 1 megohm resistor ground cord, then realize you may negate this feature with a direct ground path via test equipment. Also note that most test equipment have insulated feet that would not necessarily allow the chassis to make direct contact with the mat.

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