1. A Global Approach for Ex-Products
Proposal for a new activity: “International legal requirements for explosion protection”
A Global Approach for Ex-Products –
IECEx
UNECE WP.6
Geneva
June 2006

2. General aspects
Equipment for Hazardous Locations needs a high level of safety to protect workers and the environment all over the world
Equipment needs third party certifications for placing on the market in many countries
International Standards IEC/ISO are the basis for most Ex-Products
National laws and regulations emphasize the mandatory approval of national authorities or domestically recognized notified bodies

3. Total Market Volume in the World
Market Volume in Europe in 2005
Others
€526M
Enclosures
€324M
Motors
€217M
Operator Interfaces
€67M
Switchgear
€115M
Instrumentation
€164M
Lighting
€245M
20%
31%
10%
13% 7%
15% 4%
Total Market Volume in the World
≈ million US$

4. Interest of the Industry using Ex-Products
Users in the chemical and petroleum industry act more and more
globally with a single engineering approach for their plants
to earn savings of engineering, installation and maintenance costs
to buy the equipment in a larger number and to get a better price per piece
to have benefit from the global competition under manufacturers
Barriers against this tendency are domestic rules and regulations
which require special engineering for the plants from country to
country.

5. Interest of the Industry manufacturing Ex-Products
Manufacturers want to sell and manufacture their products
without additional national differences for the product and delays to the market
in accordance to one global standard (IEC / ISO)
without double-testing of their product
without formal restrictions to place it on the market
Barriers against this tendency are domestic rules and regulations which require special differences for the product from country to country.

6. Existing IECEx-Scheme
IECEx founded in 1996
First round of peer assessments and development of of operational rules and forms (1997 – 1999)
Commence mutual acceptance of IECEx Test Reports (ExTRs), to fast-track national certification (1999)
IECEx internet based “On-Line” Certificates made available (2003, more than xxx existing certificates today)
xx Ex-Certification bodies approved by peer assessments

8. Status 2005: 25 Countries Australia Norway New Zealand Canada China
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Korea, Republic of
Netherlands
Norway
New Zealand
Romania
Russian Federation
Singapore
Slovenia
South Africa
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States of America
Serbia & Montenegro
Malaysia as Observer + discussions with India, Brazil on the list

9. Objectives of the IECEx-Scheme
Harmonize the requirements for the equipment for Hazardous Locations based on IEC
Acceptance of testing bodies globally
an accreditation procedure with notified technical experts for certification bodies and laboratories under the rules of ILAC/IAF (ISO/IEC 17025:1999, ISO Guide 65) and with a final approval step done by the national legal authorities
Arrange a dialog between the national authorities
To eliminate national barriers for a free trade worldwide and to be the Global Centre of Excellence in the Ex-field”

10. Conclusions: => Project fits to “International Model” of UNECE
Specialized product sector with global relevance
Products are mainly manufactured in accordance to IEC/ISO Standards
Nevertheless trade barriers caused by national legislations but not caused by technical certification requirements
=> Project fits to “International Model” of UNECE