INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

IEC SCHEME FOR CERTIFICATION TO STANDARDS FOR SAFETY 
OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT FOR EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERES (IECEx SCHEME)

1. The IECEx Scheme is now definitely open for business
2. New Member
3. New Accepted Certification Bodies and ExTLs now operational
4. Annual IECEx Committee Meetings, Braunschweig September, 2000

1. The IECEx Scheme is now definitely open for business

***Press Release***

The IECEx Scheme - the global certification scheme for explosion protected products - is now definitely in business. The meeting of the Scheme's management committee hosted by PTB, Braunschweig, Germany in September heard that a number of IECEx Assessment and Test Reports (ATRs) had been issued and that the first national certificate based on the use of an ATR was imminent. The meeting was attended by delegates from 16 of the 20 participating countries as well as observers from five further countries which are considering joining the Scheme.

One of the key decisions of the meeting was to add to the benefits which the Scheme could deliver to industry by developing a Quality Assurance Report (QAR). The QAR will serve the same purpose at the production stage as the ATR provides at the design stage, eventually eliminating multiple assessments of production quality control.

Chairman Ian Cleare, in summing up the progress made at the meeting, said "The co-operation and commitment of all delegates has ensured that our aim of facilitating world trade whilst maintaining a high level of safety in hazardous areas will be achieved. We have moved a step closer to our goal of one standard, one test, one certificate and one mark accepted worldwide."

Editor's note:

The IECEx Scheme is operated under the control of the International Electrotechnical Commission based in Geneva.

Countries participating in the IECEx Scheme are:

Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. Those attending the meeting as observers were Brazil, Finland, Japan, Ukraine and USA.

Participating countries undertake to work towards alignment of their national standards with those published by the IEC and acceptance of IECEx certificates as equivalent to their own national certificates.

In the meantime the Scheme provides a transitional phase during which Accepted Certification Bodies (ACBs) use reports issued by other ACBs when issuing their own national certificates. This phase already reduces the amount of repeat assessment and testing which products must undergo to achieve market entry around the world.

During the transitional phase, participating countries must declare their national differences from the IEC standards. This information is published in the IECEx Bulletin to help manufacturers to understand the requirements which their products must meet in the various countries. The IECEx Bulletin may be purchased from the IEC Webstore via www.iecex.com/bulletin.htm. For more details of the IECEx Scheme visit the Scheme's website www.iecex.com

2. New Member

New Zealand has now joined the IECEx Scheme as a member country bringing the total number of Participating Countries to twenty.

3. New Ex Accepted Certification Bodies (ACBs) and ExTLs are now operational

During the year 2000 a number of additional Accepted Certification Bodies, known as ACBs, as well as ExTLs, have been confirmed by the ExMC . These bodies, listed below, are now able to participate within the scheme at the transitional level. Manufacturers and suppliers can apply to these bodies for an International IECEx Assessment and Test Report (ATR) to the IEC Standards, within the scope of acceptance of the ACB. This ATR can then be used in other participating countries for the purpose of achieving national certification. This means that tests and assessments performed by these ACBs do not have to be repeated when seeking national certification within participating member countries, thereby providing significant savings to manufacturers by way of reduced testing costs and a reduction in the time taken to achieve national certification.

During the recent ExMC Meeting held in Braunschweig during September the Meeting noted the acceptance of KOSHA as an IECEx ACB and ExTL via the voting procedures detailed in IECEx 01.

Acceptance of the following ACBs and ExTL were ratified during the September Braunschweig Meeting.

ACB and ExTL

ACB

*Previously accepted as an ExTL.

4. Annual IECEx Committee Meetings, Braunschweig September, 2000 - Highlights

The annual meeting of the IECEx Scheme Management Committee, ExMC, was held in Braunschweig from 5-8 September 2000. The IECEx Testing and Assessment Group, ExTAG, also met in Braunschweig to coincide with the ExMC. A total number of 54 delegates and observers from 21 countries attended the ExMC and ExTAG meetings which also aligned with the meetings of IEC TC 31 Chairman's Advisory Group and SC 31J.

Issues addressed during the meetings included:

• Matters concerning the "Uncertainty of Measurement" when testing Ex equipment
• Total number of Participating Countries now at 20
• IECEx Policy on Web site Advertising Membership
• 9 ACBs and 10 ExTLs now operational
• Status of Assessment of new ACBs and ExTLS
• Participation in IECEx by ACBs and ExTLs from non-IEC Countries
• IECEx Policy on sale of IECEx Publications
• Preparation of an Operational Document setting out ExMC Policy addressing the day to day practical aspects of recognising testing and assessments performed by other than the National Test/Certification Body
• Revision of IECEx Procedures covering the initial assessment and surveillance of ACBs and ExTLs
• New IECEx Assessor from FR appointed
• Agreement to expand the Transitional phase to cover mutual recognition of Manufacturers Quality Assessment Reports
• Design and further development of an IECEx Mark
• Preparation and Maintenance of IECEx Technical Guidance Documents (TGDs)
• First edition of the IECEx Bulletin, finalised.