Explosive Atmospheres: Explosion Safety

Explosion safety must be achieved in several ways. Most often, explosion protection is indeed associated with Ex-equipment – purpose-built equipment manufactured in accordance with the requirements of the 2014/34/EU ATEX Directive and the IECEx international certification scheme. However, in addition to this, there is also another 1999/92/EC ATEX Directive, which focuses on workplaces and the people using this Ex-equipment.

If we look at the statistics of all explosions, it quickly becomes clear that the problem does not lie only in the equipment but also with people. The vast majority of accidents are caused by human error. These mistakes cannot be prevented in any other way than through a risk assessment, awareness, and training. Everyone must be included in this process – from company management, financial staff, engineers, and maintenance personnel to operators. It is often mistakenly assumed that this concerns some groups more than others, but the situation is similar to team sports, where each team member contributes to the overall success.

While no one can be excluded from the requirement for training, the method and content of the training can be adapted to each group so that it is tailored as closely as possible to their role. A financial officer, for example, needs to understand different aspects of explosion protection than a maintenance technician. The more adapted and targeted the training is, the greater the safety that can be achieved. Safety in explosion protection is a very straightforward metric – there has been no explosion. At SIQ, we have been conducting seminars on explosion protection for many years, focusing primarily on these aspects.

It is also important to mention the manufacturers of Ex-equipment, for whom SIQ also provides training. They too must ensure safety through their knowledge of explosion protection, which includes understanding the requirements of standards for the design, testing, and certification of Ex-equipment. Unfortunately, the process is too often reversed: a manufacturer already has a product and then tries to turn it into Ex-equipment. Ex-equipment must be designed correctly from the very beginning with the necessary knowledge. It is not possible to simply upgrade ordinary equipment into Ex-equipment. Achieving this requires appropriate training of manufacturers as well.

More information:
Matej Debenc
E-mail: matej.debenc@siq.si
Tel.: +386 1 4778 227