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Posted By Shelagh O'Sullivan
Should all newly purchased Ex rated electrical equipment be supplied with a certificate of compliance, or is it acceptable to rely on the marking on the equipment itself?
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Posted By Smiff
Yes, there should be a cetificate of conformity, as the equipment marking does not bear a signature.
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Posted By MickN
Sorry Smiff, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I disagree with you.
I don't believe you will get a certificate of conformity and I don't think you'll get a signature either. What you will get is the usual paperwork stating exactly what you have bought etc, and that it is Ex rated.
I'd be careful about the whole Ex rated thing too, as there seems to be too much invested in the "magic" of something being Ex rated. I once worked in a plant where, in my opinion, they went way over the top when it came to worrying about the risk of fire. We all had to get Ex mobile phones, which we did, at a cost of €1200 each! That's not the funny part though, the phone had the Ex mark and came with a leather pouch which (and this was written on the phone) if not used unvalidated the Ex rating. Now let me be clear here, if teh phone wasn't in the pouch it wasn't an Ex phone, and you had already paid alot of money for a "special" phone. Amazing!
I guess what I'm trying to say is that just because something is Ex doesn't mean it won't become an ignition source. It means that the mechanism has been adapted to reduce this likelyhood. This is my experience, I'm open to debate.
Mick
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Posted By Smiff
Perhaps I should expand my response.
As a manufacturer of Ex equipment, I would sign Certificates of Conformity for each and every one of our products, as agreed with BASEEFA.
Nowadays as a user of Ex equipment, I get a bookfull of CoC's with the delivery (from Germany) of a complex system. One for the system, one for each sub-system, and one for each discrete part, as required.
In my experience of taking equipment to petrochem sites, I've had to forward CoCs to the site before getting permits to mobilise.
Maybe CoCs are not required to the strictest letter of ATEX, but in practice my experience is that they are very much part of the process.
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Posted By Adam Worth
@Mick
Sorry to disagree with you too but:
The hazard presented by a phone is due to a short in the phone causing a spark, e.g. when dropped - NOT the radiation during a call. This is why the pouch is provided and MUST be used. Low risk but a battery terminal can cause a spark with an energy above many LELs!
As for the original post - I would ensure any equipment I had was certificated to ensure it met the standards stated and that it was also subject to a suitable inspection by a suitably qualified electrician!
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Posted By MickN
Adam, I never mentioned radiation, I was referring to the risk of a 'spark' occurring which, once you have paid out your money, has only been reduced and not eliminated and then only worthy of the Ex rating if held inside the pouch! My point was that it's alot of money to be paying out and not (in my opinion) reasobably practicable.
Smiff, I think that the equipment you refer to is different to those I think of regarding Ex ratings. As stated I have experience of Ex mobile phones and radios (walkie-talkies) and I've never seen a cert of conformity. That's not to say they don't exist of course as, clearly, they do.
I suppose my point has become the definition of 'Ex'. I used to think that a piece of equipment with an Ex-rating was "bullet-proof" with respect to becoming an ignition source, no longer.
Mick
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Posted By Smiff
It is quite common for the rating of equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres to be dependant on it being used correctly with other items. The barrier required for externally powered IS (Intrinsically Safe) equipment, for example. I have known individual IS items to not have a cert, such as swipe cards, but the shipment will have a CoC that lists all the serial numbers. This may be down behind the desk at your Goods Inwards!
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