Over the years, our sales team has fielded a number of requests asking if our devices are Intrinsically Safe (IS) or ATEX compliant. For one reason or another, requests for explosion-safe products have increased recently. These customers operate in a variety of environments, such as mines, refineries, power plants, or confined spaces. They have been told by their health and safety team that because some areas have the potential for combustion due to gas or dust, IS certification is required. This is specified for any electronic equipment to be used, including emergency assembly or identification products like ours. 

As with most of our customer requests, we first start by determining what the requirements really are. For clients that require the highest safety standards, having intrinsically safe equipment is a must. 

But the devil is in the details when looking at explosion safety. There are just so many different levels and regulations. Are your safety people talking about Class/Division/Groups/Zones and other terms that you don’t quite understand? Does it need to be compliant with international standards? And finally, what then does it mean for a device to be IS certified or ATEX compliant? 

In the next three blogs, we will discuss the basics of preventing inadvertent explosions by using properly certified equipment. We will discuss how this relates to our handheld solutions for emergency evacuations and employee identification. We will specifically answer the questions:

• What does “Intrinsically Safe” mean?
• Do you actually need “Intrinsically Safe” devices for emergency mustering and access control?
• What solutions are available when “Intrinsic Safety” is needed for mobile identification?

There are a lot of technical details to follow, but we will make it as easy to digest as possible. But in environments where everything could blow up with a tiny spark, we fully agree with the statement, “Better safe than sorry!”

Hang on to your hats!