As the world advances, existing industries (Oil & Gas, Coal, Food, Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Wood) and emerging alternatives (Hydrogen, Batteries, Fusion) continue to become more intricate in their ComplExity.

With increased stakeholder awareness comes greater scrutiny, Regulations & Legal requirements, OHSE responsibilities, and complications with Insurance Agencies, such as increased professional & public indemnity costs. End users are put in an unenviable position. Ultimately, their reputation, livelihood/ability to do business within a country (countries), and asset & personnel integrity (safety) needs, mean they hold all responsibility for their facilities, especially for any and all incidents and accidents that may occur.

CFAC (ComplEx Facility Assessment and Certification) is a tool for end users to quantify and qualify their Ex Operational Safety Risk Management to ensure the Ex Safe Operation of their Facility has been maintained or met, via inspections to EN ISO/IEC 17020 through Verification and Validation of materials, products, installations, plants, processes, work procedures or services, and the determination of their conformity with requirements and the subsequent reporting of results of these activities to end users and, when required, to authorities.

CFAC, through Certification by an ATEX Notified Body to EN ISO/IEC 17020 and approved by the EU Commission, is a means of satisfying ComplEx requirements of Government Authorities & Regulators, Insurance Agencies, Fire Protection Agencies, EPA, and other stakeholders, with end users' interests in mind.

Within the field of Explosion Protection, we are talking about a higher level of safety and quality than that of the general industrial industry, in fact we are talking about anti-explosion safety. There is no chemical difference between a fire and an explosion, this is the same oxidation process, and the only difference is the physical speed of flame propagation. We have the ability to prevent & mitigate fires, but we prevent an explosion or attempt to mitigate its consequences. 

At any one time, the Ex Safe Operation of a facility can only be confirmed in the exact moment of an inspection. The moments after an inspection is completed, the integrity cannot be known, for multiple variables exist outside of that time of that inspection (snapshot in time). This ‘unknowingness’ is known to be a costly historical experience for any end user.

Michael Marrington

Michael Marrington, General Manager - IndEx, is an Ex & Quality Consultant with 14 years of experience worldwide between Onshore, Offshore, Oil & Gas, Mining, Power Generation, Manufacturing, and Wood Industries.

Beginning in 2006, Michael was involved in North American HazLoc (Class/Div and Class/Zone), eventually transitioning internationally in 2010 to IECEx / ATEX / EEHA. Past roles have included Consulting, Subject Matter Expert, Coordinator, Senior Inspector, Trainer, Assessor, and Auditor with such customers as: End-Users, EPC, Vendors, Module Yards, Manufacturers, Training & Certification Bodies, ATEX Notifiying Bodies, and IECEx ExTL's & ExCB's to IECEx 02, 03 and 05.

Through consultation, his aim is to help improve the quality of communication, competencies, and solutions with a practical, real-world, and lessons learned approach. With quality, you can achieve safety, production, efficiencies and cost & schedule reductions.

For more information, visit: http://www.ind-ex.ae / http:///www.ind-ex.eu