Buyers Guide 2021

Focus on: Drives, Motors & Controls Process, Controls & Plant Annual Buyers’ Guide 2021 www.pwemag.co.uk Plant & Works Engineering | 29 that any maintenance work is delivered by those with sufficient facilities and competencies. Moreover, each piece of equipment should have its own dossier containing all the required paperwork, including details of any previous repairs and inspections. A copy of this should accompany the equipment to any approved service centre, ensuring that all available information is on-hand for the repair process. A properly qualified repair centre will ask for this information and they will also provide all the evidence required to determine if it is qualified to deliver the repair. It is important to stress that the owner of the equipment is responsible for establishing this fact and retaining this evidence in the equipment dossier. Minimising risks Following the guidelines and taking on the responsibilities of operating ex- rated equipment goes a long way to minimising the risks associated with zoned areas, keeping both employees and equipment safe. Conversely, the implications of failing to adhere to the international standard could have significant consequences, hopefully not for any personnel, but the damage to the business can be substantial. In the event of an incident involving equipment in a zoned area, assuming no injuries were sustained, the first step to recovering the process will involve the insurance company. The investigation into the cause of the incident will start with the information dossier for all the equipment in the affected area, especially any component that is judged to be the root cause. If any repairs have been completed by service centres that did not comply with the international standard, this could be seen as a failure to meet the terms of the insurance policy. As such, this could have major implications for funding any repairs as well as increasing the cost of future insurance policies. Improving knowledge Both managers and maintenance staff involved with Ex rated equipment are encouraged to broaden their knowledge of this specialised area and attend training courses appropriate for their role. This will enable the business to implement the necessary operational and managerial processes to comply with the international standard. To provide further assistance, the AEMT has an Ex register (www.ex-register.com ) which lists all members that hold various certifications including ISO 9001, and AEMT Ex Assessment Certificates. IECEx service centres are independently audited by a notifying body and maintain their 3-year refresher training to achieve certified accreditation.