Explosions are a persistent threat in explosive atmospheres such as petrochemical refineries and other oil and gas facilities. Even seemingly small mistakes might cause a catastrophe endangering human life and costing millions of dollars in damages.
Nonetheless, operations in industries essential to modern life such as the oil and gas and petrochemical industries must continue to function in a safe manner; Equipment must remain in good operational condition while personnel perform their duties. To achieve that—a safe and secure facility that achieves productivity and performance targets—companies must adhere to stringent safety requirements and can withstand the rigours of operating safely in potentially volatile environments.
Facility owners and operators turn to third party service companies who specialise in explosion protection. Explosion protection service providers or Ex Certified Service Facilities such as EXS Synergy offer explosion-protection services to ensure optimum operational safety in hazardous locations.
Explosion protection service providers ascertain and ensure that equipment designed for use in potentially explosive environments is safe to operate and that protection measures are in correct working order and functioning. An approved, accredited and qualified explosion protection service provider such as EXS Synergy assists individuals working in the chemical, oil and gas, and other sectors by ensuring that plants and equipment operate safely.
Ex certified specialists in explosion protection service providers such as engineers, inspectors, technicians and electricians are able to assess and classify hazardous area zones, and oversee new or existing hazardous explosive atmosphere installations. An explosion protection service provider ensures that the appropriate documentation and paperwork that make up the Ex verification dossier for explosion protected equipment are in order.
After identifying, categorising, and classification of hazardous areas and potentially hazardous locations in your facility, an explosion protection service provider designs operational safety steps and tactics to ensure that your facility continues to operate safely and without interruption. The Ex certified specialists can assist you in determining the most appropriate machinery, equipment, and systems, as well as overseeing the installation procedures for Ex equipment which can be vastly different from their non-explosion-protected equivalents.
Ex certified competent professionals conduct explosion-proof inspection and maintenance on electrical equipment installed in hazardous areas, such as switchgear, motors, electrical panels and generators. They inspect the integrity of your Ex electrical equipment in accordance with the requirements of IEC 60079. This may include additional documentation requirements to provide an accurate risk assessment of the facility’s explosive atmosphere.
An explosion protection service provider which has access to the health status of your Ex equipment can help you to plan the correct strategy for remedial actions and can apply a risk-based inspection strategy that is robust from the data gathered from the inspection activity performed by competent Ex inspectors. An explosion protection service provider offers the skills and experience necessary to safeguard your facility and equipment while ultimately ensuring the safety of your personnel.
An explosion protection service provider like EXS Synergy is certified by an IECEx Certifying Body to perform inspections and maintenance of explosion protection Ex equipment in accordance with international standards guidelines as laid out in the IEC 60079 series of standards and other applicable standards and local regulations.
A company with global reach such as EXS Synergy draws on specialists from around the world as a service provider for explosion protection safety in explosive atmospheres. It is essential that proper expertise, accreditation and guidance are provided according to the highest quality standards to achieve optimum levels of and maintain compliance to the international standards. Therefore, only trusted and credible explosion protection service providers can execute the inspection and maintenance regime to meet the standards’ requirements and assure compliance so that all facilities are adequately protected against the potential for explosions.
The IECEx Certified Service Facilities Scheme supports a level of confidence among Ex equipment and Ex installations users, regulators, and the community that Ex safety is maintained when Ex equipment and installations are inspected and maintained by an IECEx Certified Service Facility in accordance with this Scheme.
Ex Service Facilities that achieve IECEx Certification are required to demonstrate compliance with stringent IECEx requirements including:
- Operational procedures and Ex inspection and maintenance techniques or methods meet IECEx technical requirements encompassing IEC 60079-17 and IEC 60079-14,
- Possess and maintain in operating condition necessary facilities and equipment including test equipment and traceability of measurements,
- IECEx Quality Management System (QMS) requirements, based on ISO 9001,
- Competent responsible persons and operatives with current competence related to Ex equipment and Ex inspection and maintenance standards or certification requirements,
- Others necessary for proper Ex inspection and maintenance.
To sum up, an explosion protection service provider can conduct inspection and maintenance of Ex equipment and their installations and environments within or associated with an explosive atmosphere in accordance with the requirements of international standards to ensure the continued safe operations of your facility and safeguarding human life.
