INTRODUCTION
People are the weakest link in most safety chains. Investigations typically conclude that the overwhelming majority of accidents are caused by a lack of competence, clear responsibilities and commitment. Unfortunately, accidents continue to occur in both industrialised and industrialising countries. Hazardous areas where explosive atmospheres may be present are no exception.
IRISH REGULATIONS
Directive 1999/92/ECis a European Union (EU) directive also known as the “ATEX Workplace Directive” or ATEX 153 (formerly ATEX 137). The purpose of this directive is to establish minimum requirements for improving the health and safety protection of workers who may be at risk from explosive atmospheres in the workplace. Annex II of Directive 1999/92/ECstates that employers must provide those working in places where explosive atmospheres may occur with sufficient and appropriate training with regard to explosion protection.
This Directive was adopted into Irish law through the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007). These regulations transpose the requirements of the ATEX Workplace Directive and set out the minimum requirements for the protection of workers against the risks arising from explosive atmospheres in the workplace.
Regulation 173 of S.I. No. 299 of 2007 also states that an employer shall provide persons at work in workplaces where explosive atmospheres may occur with sufficient and appropriate training with regard to explosion protection.
As Ireland’s only Recognised Training Provider under the IECEx Certificate of Personnel Competency Scheme, AVS provide a full range of globally recognised courses for the certification of personnel working in hazardous areas.
ASSESSMENT & CERTIFICATION
While the IECEx scheme for certification of personnel competence is owned and operated by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), the IEC does not issue IECEx certificates of personnel competence (CoPCs). The assessment of personnel competence against detailed requirements and the issuing of certificates to successful candidates are performed by specialist organisations. Those organisations are independent of the IEC; they have been assessed and accredited against strict and comprehensive IECEx rules and comply with the requirements of the international standard ISO/IEC 17024, Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons.
TRAINING MATRIX
MAIN OBJECTIVE – SAFETY
The objective of the IECEx scheme for certification of personnel competence is to make the world a safer place, and to use the principles of conformity assessment to provide employers and others with the confidence that the personnel working in or near hazardous areas containing explosive atmospheres have been independently certified as competent to do so according to the world’s best practice requirements.
EN IEC 60079 SERIES OF HARMONISED STANDARDS
Standards for Explosive Atmospheres require the use of special equipment to avoid the introduction of an ignition source. If that special equipment is not selected, installed, operated or maintained correctly, it will not provide the expected explosion protection integrity required, thereby rendering the installation potentially unsafe. The use of competent persons to work on and near such equipment can ensure that it is designed, installed, inspected, used and maintained correctly, thereby sustaining the explosion protection integrity of the equipment for its lifespan. Furthermore, most countries have legislation regarding safety in the workplace. In most cases, the employer is responsible for the design, selection, installation, operation, maintenance and safe operation of equipment under their control.
The Irish Legal requirements are adopted from Directive 1999/92/ECas transposed into Irish Law in Statutory Instrument S.I. No. 299 of 2007.
This Statutory Instrument sets out the following regulations;
EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITY
The aforementioned regulations state that it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure compliance. It is critical that the personnel involved in such activities are sufficiently competent to undertake the associated work activities.
International standards, such as the EN IEC 60079-10 series, EN IEC 60079-14, EN IEC 60079-17and EN IEC 60079-19define the competency expectation for personnel relating to all aspects of electrical installations at all stages of their lifecycle.
The utilisation of these standards as the basis of conformity assessment principles for the measurement and verification of personal competency ensures industry best practice methodologies are adopted to enable work activities to be undertaken to meet legal and regulatory requirements.
Training schemes provide independent validation of the ability of individuals to apply their knowledge and practical skills to a required level of performance in workplace environments. Certificates of competency provide certification that someone is competent to apply the International Standards to which persons are assessed.
There are several references in IEC Standards that require that only competent persons can carry out all work in and associated with Explosive Atmospheres.
EN IEC 60079-14:2014 Cl. 4.5 titled Qualifications of personnel states that “The design of the installation, the selection of equipment and the erection covered by this standard shall be carried out only by persons whose training has included instruction on the various types of protection and installation practices, relevant rules and regulations and on the general principles of area classification. The competency of the person shall be relevant to the type of work to be undertaken.
Appropriate continuing education or training shall be undertaken by personnel on a regular basis.”
EN IEC 60079-19:2019 Cl. 4.4 titled Instructions for the repair facility states that “The repair facility shall appoint a person (responsible person) with the required competency, within the management organization, to accept responsibility and authority for ensuring that the overhauled/repaired equipment complies with the certification status agreed with the user. The person so appointed shall have a working knowledge of the appropriate explosion protection standards and an understanding of this standard.”
It is a requirement that competent persons undertake the work. The relative legal and regulatory requirement in Irish law is set out in S.I. No. 299 of 2007 Regulation 88 titled Persons to be Competent to prevent danger states that “An employer shall ensure that no person is engaged in any work activity to which this Part relates where technical knowledge and experience is necessary to prevent danger unless that person is competent”.
Regulation 170 titled Classification of places where explosive atmospheres may occur also refers to the requirements to ensure work is undertaken by competent persons stating that “the overall explosion safety of both the workplace and that place it contains is verified by a competent person, and any condition or conditions that are necessary, pursuant to this Part, for ensuring protection from explosion, is or are maintained.”
Finally, Regulation 173 titled Training, instructions, permits to work states that the employer shall “provide persons at work in workplaces where explosive atmospheres may occur with sufficient and appropriate training with regard to explosion protection”.
In determining if somebody is competent, it is usual that both the level of knowledge and the acquired skills are considered. This is always assessed in light of the expectation of the duties and responsibilities that will be assigned to the individual and the application of that knowledge and skill to the standards of performance required in the workplace.
The concept of competence focuses on what is expected of an employee in the workplace rather than the learning process but also embodies their ability to transfer and apply skills and knowledge to new situations and environments. Competence includes all aspects of work performance and not only specific skills and is based on appropriate evidence which should include proof of:
- Qualifications (off job): this may be a university degree, a diploma, craftsman/trade training that is generally achieved through an education system.
- Experience (on job): apprenticeship, trainee programme, direct supervision or mentoring are examples of typical experience that would be considered.
- Recent and relevant training (both on and off the job): it is essential that knowledge and skills are maintained; to achieve this, a competent person would be expected to attend refresher training or seminars, etc.
IMPORTANCE OF COMPETENCE
- Qualifications (off job): this may be a university degree, a diploma, craftsman/trade training that is generally achieved through an education system.
- Experience (on job): apprenticeship, trainee programme, direct supervision or mentoring are examples of typical experience that would be considered.
- Recent and relevant training (both on and off the job): it is essential that knowledge and skills are maintained; to achieve this, a competent person would be expected to attend refresher training or seminars, etc.
Today, most countries have legislation in terms of safety and in most cases the owner or operator is responsible for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of electrical and non-electrical equipment in plants and their safe operation. International standards clearly formulate the expected competence of personnel for all aspects of electrical and non-electrical installations as well as for use, maintenance and adequate repair and overhaul.
In case of an incident, the responsibility of the owner or the operator in charge of the plant is clearly engaged. It is in his/her interest to ensure that personnel involved in work are competent, especially when using outsourced labour. The difficulty up to now has been with the ability to identify a mechanism by which they can be confident that competent persons are carrying out the work.
COURSES
ATC-02 – INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL
Personnel employed to install or maintain electrical/non-electrical equipment in ATEX hazardous areas complete a recognised training course in the inspection and maintenance of electrical equipment in line with EN 60079-17 2014 Annex B & EN 60079-14: 2014 Annex Aas applicable. It is the responsibility of Head of Safety to ensure that all personnel receive the appropriate level of ATEX training, and that training is repeated as required by relevant ATEX training programmes of competency. Regulation 170 of S.I. No. 299 of 2007 titled Classification of places where explosive atmospheres may occur also refers to the requirements to ensure work is undertaken by competent persons stating that “the overall explosion safety of both the workplace and that place it contains is verified by a competent person, and any condition or conditions that are necessary, pursuant to this Part, for ensuring protection from explosion, is or are maintained.”
ATC-05 – DESIGN (ELECTRICAL & MECHANICAL)
I.S. EN 60079-14:2014 states that responsible persons who are responsible for the processes involved in the design, selection and erection of explosion protected equipment shall possess, at least, the following:
- general understanding of relevant electrical engineering;
- understanding and ability to read and assess engineering drawings;
- practical understanding of explosion protection principles and techniques;
- working knowledge and understanding of relevant standards in explosion protection;
basic knowledge of quality assurance, including the principles of auditing, documentation, traceability of measurement and instrument calibration.
ATC-01 – ALL PERSONNEL OPERATING IN THE EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERE
All personnel who work in areas where flammable materials are present should have an introductory ATEX awareness course which outlines the fundamental requirements of the ATEX regulations and the properties of the flammable materials/hazards. Regulation 173 of S.I. No. 299 of 2007 states that an employer shall provide persons at work in workplaces where explosive atmospheres may occur with sufficient and appropriate training with regard to explosion protection.
ATC-04 – PROCESS SAFETY
GAS: EN 60079-10-1 Cl. 4.6 – Explosive Atmospheres – Part 10-1, Classification of areas – Explosive gas atmospheres. states that the Hazardous Area Classification should be carried out by persons who understand the nature of flammable substances, gas dispersion and ventilation and are familiar with the process aspects of the plant under consideration. The competency of the person(s) undertaking the assessment shall be relevant to the processes and methodology used for carrying out the Hazardous Area Classification.
EX 002 pertains to the performance of the classification of hazardous areas. This unit of competence covers knowledge and skills to classify areas where explosive materials may exist. It requires the ability to gather and analyse data relative to explosion hazards, determine the extent of risk and establish and document zones. This unit of competence is based on EN 60079-10-1 and EN 60079-10-2 and any other relevant standard that applies to this unit of competence.
DUST: EN 60079-10-2 Cl. 4.6 – Explosive Atmospheres – Part 10-1, Classification of areas – Explosive gas atmospheres states that The area classification should be carried out by those who are competent and understand the relevance and significance of the characteristics of dust and those who are familiar with the process and the equipment, along with safety, electrical, mechanical, and other qualified engineering personnel.
ATC-03 – PROCUREMENT/SELECTION OF EX EQUIPMENT (ELECTRICAL & MECHANICAL)
Regulation 172 of S.I. No. 299 of 2007 states that an employer shall ensure that:
(c) all necessary measures are taken to ensure that the workplace, work equipment and any associated connecting device made available to employees are;
- designed,
- constructed,
- assembled,
- installed,
in such a way as;
- to minimise the risks of an explosion, and
- if an explosion does occur to control or minimise the propagation of the explosion within that workplace, work equipment, or both.
Regulation 77 of S.I. No. 299 of 2007 states that an employer shall ensure that electrical equipment which may foreseeably be exposed to adverse or hazardous environments, including in particular—
(d) any flammable or potentially explosive atmosphere, including any mixture of air and a flammable substance in the form of gas, vapour, mist or dust, is constructed, installed, maintained and modified or so protected as to prevent danger arising from the exposure.
ATC-00 – TECHNICAL RESPONSIBLE PERSONS WITH EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
I.S. EN 60079-17:2014 states that the processes involved in the inspection and maintenance of explosion protected equipment shall possess, at least, the following:
- general understanding of relevant electrical engineering;
- practical understanding of explosion protection principles and techniques;
- understanding and ability to read and assess engineering drawings;
- working knowledge and understanding of relevant standards in explosion protection, particularly IEC 60079-10-1, IEC 60079-10-2, IEC 60079-14 and IEC 60079-19;
basic knowledge of quality assurance, including the principles of auditing, documentation, traceability of measurement and instrument calibration.
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