Specific surveillance is mandated for systems located in areas subject to explosion hazard. The same applies to systems which themselves are devices or systems that protect equipment located in explosion-endangered areas and to systems that contain such protective devices. Are you planning to install or commission such a system? Then, as prescribed by the Operational Safety Ordinance, you have to conduct various safety examinations in order to guarantee explosion protection.

Thus a system requiring surveillance as per Section 14 of the Operational Safety Ordinance may be put into service for the first time and returned to service following any substantial modification only if that system has been examined for proper condition. This shall be done by an authorized agency or by an authorized individual who has specialized knowledge in the field of explosion protection. Included in the examination are the assembly, proper installation, the local situation, and the safe and secure functioning of the system.

Systems requiring surveillance as per Section 15 of the Operational Safety Ordinance are also to be re-inspected for proper condition at certain recurring intervals. This is to be done by an authorized agency or by an authorized person who has specialized knowledge in the field of explosion protection. According to the Operational Safety Ordinance you, as the operator, have to use a safety evaluation to select the inspection intervals.

In addition to systems requiring surveillance, all the workplaces in explosion-endangered areas, as defined in Annex 4 to the Operational Safety Ordinance, are to be inspected prior to initial use. To be determined here is the degree of explosion safety at the workplace (to include the tools and operating media) and in the surrounding area. Also affected here are, of course, the workplaces at systems requiring surveillance and located inside areas subject to explosion hazard. This inspection is carried out as a review of the entire system, taking account of all the functional units and their interactions. During this inspection the explosion protection concept and its implementation in the system are checked for correctness. It is to be carried out by an authorized person who has special expertise in the field of explosion protection.

We can help you in the satisfaction of legal requirements. Acting on your behalf, we can inspect systems requiring surveillance before they are put into service (as per Section 14 of the Operational Safety Ordinance) and in recurring inspections (as per Section 15 of the Operational Safety Ordinance). We can also determine the degree of safety at workplaces inside areas subject to explosion hazard, as defined in Annex 4 of the Operational Safety Ordinance.

Reference:
ThyssenKrupp, Trianel, RWE, Rheinbraun, etc.