First Organisation to Comply with ISO/IEC 80079-34

Honeywell Analytics Limited, a leading manufacturer of gas and flame detection equipment, has become the first organisation known to have successfully completed assessment against the new international standard ISO / IEC 80079-34 (Explosive Atmospheres – Application of Quality Systems for Equipment Manufacture).

This harmonised standard has recently been released and will replace existing standards EN 13980:2002 and IECEx OD/005, used to demonstrate compliance with the ATEX Directive 94/9/EC Annex IV and with IECEx Scheme requirements. Whilst compliance with the new standard does not become mandatory until May 2014, Honeywell Analytics have chosen to adopt the standard early.

ISO / IEC 80079-34 now includes provision for non-electrical equipment, gas detection equipment and protective systems not previously addressed within the existing standards. Other system related requirements have been clarified, some of which stem from earlier ATEX Notified Body Group decisions. Honeywell Analytics maintains numerous worldwide approvals for all product ranges. It is therefore no surprise that new requirements such as the need to review ongoing compliance and validity of certification is already taken care of within Honeywell’s established systems. Annex A11 of the new standard is perhaps the most relevant update to Honeywell. This Annex gives detailed requirements for testing and inspecting gas detection equipment, taking into account function and performance, long-term stability and sensitivity. Using guidance from another international standard IEC 60079-29-1, and through further discussions, Sira were able to confirm compliance with this section of the standard.

“This achievement highlights our commitment to offering not only leading-edge products but the highest level of regulatory compliance and independently quantifiable device performance”, said Andi Thompson, Business Leader for Honeywell Gas Detection EMEAI. He continues, “Our customers depend on our products to protect their assets and personnel in a variety of hazardous applications, so maintaining the highest levels of regulatory compliance is a key commitment in our business.”

As many organisations begin to evaluate their own systems for compliance with the new standard, the staff at Honeywell Analytics can be content that this preparatory work is done, and that it has been independently verified by a leading ATEX/IECEx Certification Body – Sira Certification Service (CSA-Sira).

Sira remains one of the few Certification Bodies to offer ATEX/IECEx product certification, North American CSA marks, gas detector performance testing and functional safety assessment (SIL) – hardware and software.

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