IECEx a short history

Transcription

1 IEC e-learning course Page 0 of 9

2 Welcome to the IEC e-learning course. This is Unit 5 of Module 21. The title of this unit is IECEx a short history. IEC e-learning course Page 1 of 9

3 Lord William Thomson Kelvin was the founding father of the IEC. Like many that followed him, Lord Kelvin understood the value created by testing and measurement. Standards provide ideal numbers, testing and measurement provide actual real numbers. IEC e-learning course Page 2 of 9

4 In the early 1990s, the existing certification organizations were not offering consistent and efficient services for the Ex sector. More specifically, they were responding neither to the needs of an industry confronted with the difficulties of exporting to different countries, nor to the needs of governments confronted with the challenge of importing safe products. Of course in the 1980s and early 1990s, it was very difficult for the existing certification organizations to provide any consistent services. At that time they faced a maze of differing standards and regulations across various countries, and sometimes even across different regions of the same country. IEC e-learning course Page 3 of 9

5 This was occurring at about the same time that the global trade forum, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT, was being transformed into the World Trade Organization. It was a time of expanding world trade, and this expansion fueled the thinking about the need for global harmonized compliance requirements. The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement was created during the Uruguay round of negotiations which spanned from 1986 to The TBT Agreement came into force with the establishment of the WTO in But the Ex-sector needed a faster solution. IEC e-learning course Page 4 of 9

6 In the early 1990s the Ex industry requested the IEC to provide a forum to discuss the creation of a truly international system that would provided manufacturers with a single mechanism whereby testing and assessment for the Ex sector would only need to be conducted once and would be accepted by all members of the system. In 1996 the IECEx was established through the initiative of the Ex industry and with support from certification bodies in the UK, France, Canada and Germany. The first Ex equipment certificates were issued in 2003, followed by the first Ex service certificates in Discussions began in 2001 for an IEC Mark scheme, which was launched in Similarly, discussions began in 2005 for a personnel competency certification scheme, which was launched in Also in 2011, the United Nations Economic Committee for Europe published its Common Regulatory Objectives model for the Ex sector, endorsing the IECEx as a world s best practice. In 2013 the IECEx launched a smartphone app allowing instant verification of certificates from its online database. IEC e-learning course Page 5 of 9

7 During its short history, the growth of the IECEx has been remarkable. The first Ex equipment certificate was issued in 2003; and only a bit more than 10 years later, the accumulated number of certificates issued is almost Growth in the area of the service facility certificates has been steady since the issuing of the first certificate in 2007; and today more than 140 Ex maintenance service providers have been certified worldwide. IEC e-learning course Page 6 of 9

8 In 2015, the IECEx certified equipment scheme included 50 approved Ex Certification Bodies and 59 Ex testing laboratories worldwide. The certified service schemes involved 13 approved ExCBs. The conformity mark licensing system included 15 approved ExCBs authorized to issue the mark. Meanwhile the Certified Persons scheme had 8 approved ExCBs that could issue personnel competency certificates, and 865 Certified Persons Certificates have been issued. And finally, there were 4 approved recognized training providers. IEC e-learning course Page 7 of 9

9 As of the 2nd quarter of 2015, 33 countries were participating in the IECEx. IEC e-learning course Page 8 of 9

10 IEC e-learning course Page 9 of 9