HazardEx - Features

Closing the loop – a digital approach to process safety management

07 October 2020

Process safety management (PSM) can be defined as the prevention of unplanned and uncontrolled loss of containment that can result in harm to people and the environment, and business losses....
How robots can reduce accidents in offshore energy asset inspection

05 October 2020

As industry and academia work together to improve safety in the offshore energy sector, the ORCA Hub is creating game-changing robotic solutions for asset inspection, maintenance and repair....
Closing the Ex Engineering Loop on NEC 500 applications in the US

05 October 2020

On January 24, 2020 at 4:25 a.m., I was awoken by my garage door vibrating from the shock wave of an explosion, approximately 5 miles away. The explosion was from a manufacturing building that housed chemicals, in northwest Houston, Texas. Two plant workers and one local resident died later from their injuries....
Understanding effective audible and visual alarm notification

05 October 2020

Whilst personnel are required to be in and around hazardous locations the demand for effective and reliable audible and visual alarm notification will remain a primary concern for any life safety focused system. However, field devices such as alarm horn sounders or warning beacons can unfortunately be specified using criteria that may not accurately reflect the necessary real-world level of performance....
How to calculate an Intrinsically Safe loop approval

05 October 2020

We all know what can happen when the correct techniques are not used when interfacing into a hazardous area. Using Intrinsic Safety (Ex i based on IEC 60079-11; IEC 60079-25), the energy in the hazardous area is limited to below the ignition energy of the gas present, thereby preventing explosions....

Safe and economical processing of bulk materials 05 October 2020

During the processing of combustible bulk materials, there is always a risk of explosions. In most cases, each piece of equipment at a plant is considered separately in order to derive suitable measures for explosion safety. However, it is more effective to look at a facility as a whole and to develop integrated explosion safety concepts. This both improves process safety and saves operational costs....

Specifying cable protection for pharmaceutical applications 05 October 2020

Pharmaceutical applications demand stringent hygiene and contamination control to avoid downtime and maintain quality standards across the entire supply chain. Processors are investing heavily in automation solutions and equipment to deliver these objectives, resulting in an increasing reliance on the continuity of power and data cabling....

Smart organisations in emergency mode 05 October 2020

Unfortunately, this is the third time I have had to write my column under the context of COVID-19. Worldwide 188 countries have been affected by the pandemic and the impact on mental and physical health has been severe. All 35-member countries of the IECEx Management Committee and organisations, and persons holding IECEx Certification in more than 60 countries continue to struggle with the consequences of the disease....

How should we manage the new threats posed by biomanufacturing? 03 September 2020

Over the last five decades, there have been thousands of incidents in biological laboratories in which pathogen containment has failed1. Those incidents have caused over 150 fatalities since 1970....

ATEX fans – EN 14986 03 September 2020

ATEX fans are fans designed for use in potentially explosive atmospheres and are governed by EU Directive 2014/34/EU. This Directive is intended to increase safety by using a logical risk identification and mitigation method for design manufacture and use....