The universal goal for IECEx is to be “one certificate
acceptable everywhere.” supported by absolute and
traceable compliance to the nominated standards.
the goal of facilitating free trade of hazardous area use
products across all major world markets.
IECEx scheme
IECEx is a certification scheme championed by the IEC, and
it is fast becoming the preferred route for international safe
certification of products for use within all hazardous areas.
The IEC test report provides detail not included within an
ATEX certificate and can be locally ratified to overcome any
destination market legislative difficulties that may arise.
In contrast to ATEX, IECEx was designed from the outset
as an ISO/IEC Type 5 Certification Scheme, employing a
single third party (The IECEx Certification Body) to combine
all aspects of design evaluation and production control before
issuing a certificate. This certificate is a publically available
document which has been issued by a recognised certification
body. To support this the online IECEx database allows the
equipment purchaser to check the current status of the certificate
– current, suspended or withdrawn – in real-time.
Acceptable across the world
IECEx – Taking hazardous
area approval worldwide
The ATEX 94/9/EC (equipment) directive came into force within the European
Union in July 2003, but for equipment builders and suppliers who export
beyond Europe local compliance has always been a challenge.
Many industries, such as petro-chemical processing and
mining are global. However the expertise to design and build
the control equipment needed by these industries often resides
within European based companies.
ATEX was introduced to remove trade barriers within Europe,
and is a mandatory legal directive relying on several forms of
conformity assessment. Its purpose is to set a level of perceived
safety which is to be regarded as “good enough” to ensure that
national authorities would have no reason to prevent free trade
within the EU.
for it. It is produced independently of any other documentation,
although it may make reference to other sources. This lack
of detail has led other national standard bodies outside
of the EU to doubt the value of ATEX compliance and
challenge it as reference paperwork for local essential
health and safety requirements.
Common approach
ATEX documentation
A common route to compliance is to use pre-approved
products in a specified manner and, if required, a notified
body (An Ex. Test house – for example Baseefa, Sira, TUV) to
provide a conformity assessment to gain additional certification.
Unfortunately for global export this is not always sufficient.
ATEX is not true certification. The only public domain document
for ATEX is the manufacturer’s Declaration of Conformity (DoC).
This is the only information that the manufacturer is obliged to
show purchasers and the manufacturer has sole responsibility
An internationally acceptable solution was required allowing
equipment designs to be used in any part of the world without
significant modification. The approach would use recognised
practice to achieve a common acceptable level of safety, with
4 AUTOMATION JULY 2009
Over 260,000 products available at the touch of a button
Bringing IECEx and ATEX together
1. Technically identical standards for electrical
equipment since 2006
2. For single standards, a single set of tests and
assessments can support both IECEx and ATEX
3. An ATEX EC-Type Examination Certificate can be
based on an IECEx ExTR, but ATEX documentation
does not necessarily support an IECEx certificate
4. The technical requirements of a manufacturer’s QA
system are effectively the same, both being based
on EN13980 and an IECEx QAR can support the
issue of an ATEX QAN
While total global harmonisation is still some way off,
more and more countries are adopting this international
certification scheme. Many manufacturers have
acknowledged this shift and have begun adding IECEx
compliance to their list of approvals. You will see an
increasing number of products – existing & new – displaying
the blue IECEx logo alongside the familiar ATEX Ex logo.
Therefore, unlike ATEX, IECEx is completely transparent
giving purchasers and users access to detail that would
not be easy to obtain under the ATEX compliance system.
The universal goal for IECEx is to be “one certificate
acceptable everywhere” supported by absolute and
traceable compliance to the nominated standards.
ATEX compliments IECEx
This is not to say that ATEX is dead. Its mandatory legal
status within Europe will ensure that it continues to be very
important, however IECEx certification compliments ATEX and
choosing equipment that has compliance to both standards has
advantages if the final destination is outside the EU.
Within the UK & Europe Baseefa continue to lead the way in
product verification, assessment and certification, and have
global acceptance within the IECEx scheme. An example of
the worldwide embracement of IECEx is the adoption of the
scheme by the Underwriters Laboratories of American (UL). UL
has gained accreditation under the IECEx scheme, and has been
issuing Assessment and Test Reports (ATRs) since 2005.
An Example of product marking with dual certification.
Our pin-up and keep DSEAR and ATEX wallchart included
with this issue contains details of the Ex coding shown in
this example.
IECEx and ATEX dual marking is becoming increasingly
common. This approach enables products to gain an equal
acceptance status in the countries signed up to the IECEx
scheme as they currently receive in Europe. In some cases
there may still be a requirement for coverage of national
certification, however in these instances the certification can
be fast tracked at minimal cost using the IECEx test report.
One certification process
The ATRs produced will be accepted by other national
certification bodies in countries participating under the scheme
without the need for additional testing. So one product
certification can open the door to national certifications in 31
countries currently participating in the scheme.
These include Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden,
Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and Russia.
rswww.com/automation 08457 201201
With businesses in the UK and Europe placing more
emphasis on export markets especially outside of Europe
and North America, dual certification will be beneficial in
simplifying the export process.
The IECEx scheme is a very positive step towards a world
certification system. When combined with ATEX dual
marking it will help you to make a more informed decision
during the process of designing, building or purchasing
products for hazardous area applications.. n
AUTOMATION JULY 2009 5