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Floor and Footwear Testing
For electrostatic discharge (ESD) flooring, choosing the right test depends on what you need to measure. A floor-only resistance test measures one property: the floor’s electrical resistance. It does not establish the resistance of a person wearing particular footwear on that floor or the voltage generated while walking. The ESD Association’s standard test methods (STM) cited below are approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
What a floor-only result leaves out
Charge generation when a foot leaves the floor
The informative foreword to ANSI/ESD STM7.1-2020 identifies separation of a foot from the floor as a common source of electrostatic charge that can accumulate on personnel. It describes resistance as an incomplete characterization of flooring systems and identifies triboelectric charge generation (static charge produced when materials contact and separate) with personnel and mobile equipment as an additional property to consider.
The footwear used with the floor
The foreword to ANSI/ESD STM97.2-2016 states that effective control of voltage on personnel requires floor materials to be used with static control footwear. The foreword to ANSI/ESD STM97.1-2025 likewise describes flooring systems used with footwear or foot grounders to control electrostatic discharge from personnel.
Why lower resistance does not guarantee lower body voltage
A general tendency with appropriate footwear
Informative Annex C of ANSI/ESD STM7.1-2020 states that, assuming appropriate static control footwear, lower flooring-system resistance generally produces lower body-voltage generation.
Other factors that affect body voltage
Body voltage also depends on:
- the footwear used
- the relative humidity of the environment
- footwear size (surface area)
- personnel weight (force applied)
- movement speed
- the type of flooring material
These are among the factors Annex C identifies, so floor resistance alone is not a universal predictor of body voltage.
The recommendation to test walking voltage
Annex C recommends testing walking-voltage generation to assess whether the flooring system provides the desired protection, and refers to ANSI/ESD STM97.2 for voltage generation in combination with a person. This is informative guidance in an annex that is not part of the standard test method itself.
Resistance and body-voltage test methods
ANSI/ESD STM97.2-2016 section 6.4 recommends the first three resistance characterizations below for complete footwear/floor system characterization; it references their methods rather than defining them itself.
| Quantity | Test method | What is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Floor resistance | ANSI/ESD STM7.1 | Resistance of the flooring system |
| Footwear resistance | ANSI/ESD STM9.1 | Resistance characterization of the footwear |
| Combined-system resistance | ANSI/ESD STM97.1-2025 | Electrical system resistance of a person wearing footwear or foot grounders while standing on a flooring system |
| Voltage on the person | ANSI/ESD STM97.2-2016 | Voltage on personnel using a footwear-flooring system where protection of ESD-susceptible items is required |
Qualification and verification of the combination
Qualification for each footwear and flooring type combination
Under ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021, when an organization selects a footwear/flooring system as its personnel-grounding method, product qualification shall be completed for each footwear and flooring type combination it uses.
Compliance verification of both components as a system
ESD TR53-01-22, the ESD Association’s technical report (TR) on compliance verification, directs flooring verification (section 7.3.9) and footwear verification (section 7.3.7) to the footwear/flooring-system compliance verification methods in section 7.2.3. This compliance verification is distinct from the product qualification required by S20.20-2021; both concern the combination. For UFGS projects, see floor-and-footwear testing responsibility under UFGS 09 62 38.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A floor-only resistance result does not establish the resistance of a person wearing particular footwear on the floor or the voltage generated on that person. ANSI/ESD STM97.1-2025 measures the resistance of the combined person, footwear or foot grounders, and flooring system; ANSI/ESD STM97.2-2016 measures voltage on personnel using a footwear-flooring system for ESD protection.
No. Informative Annex C of ANSI/ESD STM7.1-2020 describes a general tendency toward lower body voltage with lower floor resistance, assuming appropriate static control footwear. Body voltage also depends on the footwear, relative humidity, footwear surface area, personnel weight, movement speed and flooring material, among other factors.
No. When an organization selects a footwear/flooring system as its personnel-grounding method under ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021, product qualification is required for each footwear and flooring type combination it uses.