CompTIA A+ Core 2
ESD wrist straps, safe handling and SDS sheets for A+ Core 2
Clip the ESD wrist strap to bare, unpainted metal on the chassis and wear it with the metal button against your skin. Keep parts in their antistatic bags until you install them, and clear charge-building materials such as foam and cellophane off the bench. Safety data sheets (SDS) must be readily available to the workers who use the product.
Setting up the work area
Static built up on your body can discharge through a part's circuits when you touch them. If the air is very dry, run a humidifier to lower the risk.
Give yourself enough room. Clear away unnecessary items and anything that builds up charge, such as foam packaging, foam cups and cellophane wrappers.
Gather the ESD kit and everything else you need before you start. Walking away from the work site during servicing can build up charge again.
Microsoft's repair guidance also says to work on a flat surface covered with soft, ESD-safe material and to store removed parts in ESD-safe bags.
Using the wrist strap
Use the ESD kit, including the wrist strap, whenever you handle a replaceable part.
Attach the strap's clip to any bare, unpainted metal on the chassis. Then put the strap around your wrist with the metal button against your skin. A strap worn over a sleeve does not make that contact.
Leave replacement parts in their antistatic packaging until you are ready to install them.
When no ESD kit is available
This is an emergency procedure only, not a substitute for an ESD kit. Its aim is to keep your body and the part at the same electrostatic potential.
Touch bare, unpainted metal on the case before touching any part. Keep one hand on that metal while you pick up the part, still sealed in its antistatic bag. Once you have it out, avoid touching its components and circuits.
Do not walk around or touch other furniture, people or surfaces until the part is installed. If you must leave, put the part back in its antistatic bag first, and repeat the steps when you return.
Other repair safety and safety data sheets
Power the device off and disconnect it from mains power before opening it. Remove rings, bracelets and watches, which can cause shorts. Microsoft recommends eye protection and gloves. If a battery is leaking, swollen or damaged, stop work.
A safety data sheet is written by the product's maker or supplier and explains its hazards, safe use, symptoms of exposure and what to do in an emergency. It has 16 sections, including first-aid measures (section 4), handling and storage (section 7) and disposal considerations (section 13).
Under Canadian WHMIS rules, every hazardous product needs an up-to-date SDS when it enters the workplace, and the SDS must be readily available to the workers exposed to it. A sheet locked in an office that night-shift staff cannot open does not meet that.
Worked example: for used toner cartridges, look at the disposal section of the toner's SDS rather than putting them in the regular trash.
Where the exam catches people
- Believing a wrist strap works over a sleeve: the metal button must touch your skin.
- Believing the strap can clip to any part of the case: it goes on bare, unpainted metal, not plastic or paint.
- Believing a part is safe to carry around in your hand once grounded: if you move away, put it back in its antistatic bag and repeat the grounding steps.
- Believing foam packaging is a safe place to rest a module: foam and cellophane build up charge and should be cleared away.
- Believing an SDS only needs to be on file somewhere: it must be readily available to the workers who use the product.