ATEX instructions- a paper chase

There exists an ATEX working group/ standing committee, which promulgates interpretations of the ATEX apparatus directive. Quite what its powers are and how binding its decisions are is not clear but if we assume they are significant, then its latest decision is a nuisance. At a recent meeting [November 06] under “Any Other Business”, without a lot of discussion and certainly without any prior consultation it was decided that the only permissible delivery method for instructions was on paper. The Directive does not specify any format but does require instructions to ‘accompany equipment’ so the interpretation is ‘intuitive’ or divine.

The problem of getting instructions to the person who needs them is well known to all manufacturers. In practice different people need the instructions at various stages in the life of the equipment and it is virtually impossible to ensure that the instructions are in the right place at the right time. Many manufacturers welcomed the possibility of using the Internet to ease this problem. By making instructions available on the Internet it becomes possible for anyone with access to the Net to obtain an up to date set of instructions in a relatively short time from a well defined source. The instructions can be used and then thrown away since they can be reproduced with certainty at any time. The avoidance of using out of date information is a requirement of most quality control systems.

The other advantage of having the information on the net is that instructions are frequently changed in response to new applications or to clarify their intention. One of the arguments for not including detailed instructions as certified documents is that it inhibits change and consequently changes determined by experience of use [which may be safety related] do not get included.

The decision is all the more puzzling in that the IEC Ex scheme posts all its certificates on the web so the certification state of any equipment can be easily checked. This has proved successful, is widely used and sets a worthwhile example.

The committee appears to have decided that out of date untraceable paper is the preferred solution and rejected a potentially safer technique. The- likely outcome is that manufacturers will still produce the paper so as to satisfy this requirement, confident that it will get lost anyway and that the end user will then use their website to find the necessary information.

The end result will be safe and only a few trees will be wasted. It could be worse the committee could have decided that the instructions had to be carved on tablets of stone in line with the rest of their pre-historic thinking.

Explore posts in the same categories: ATEX Directive, Explosion Protection, Hazardous Areas, Intrinsic Safety