Conformity Assessment – ATEX Documentation

The requirements for Conformity Assessment are listed in AS/NZS 60079.14:2017 Appendix ZD. The requirements for an ATEX certification are listed in Clause ZD5 ATEX Documentation. The following documents or items are critical to the successful compilation of a conformity assessment for an ATEX certified equipment. ALL DOCUMENTATION MUST BE IN ENGLISH OR HAVE A CERTIFIED TRANSLATION TO ENGLISH ATTACHED TO THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT (e.g., the German, French or Italian original).

Sample of the Equipment or High Resolution Photographs

High resolution photographs of all certification details are required, including:

• Complete Model Number: CMF200M418N2FZEZZZ (which includes options in the design)
• Year of Manufacture: 2019 (to check this against the certificate validity date)
• Certification marking: II 2 G Ex ib IIB T5…T1 Gb    IP66/IP67
• Certificate Number: BVS 15 ATEX E 045 X
• Notified Body number: 2460, which in this case is for DNV, which incorporated BVS who was Notified Body number 0158.

are required in order to confirm that this particular equipment example is included in the current certification documents. Else, a sample of the equipment will be required for inspection.

ZD5 ATEX DOCUMENTATION

EC-Type (or EU-Type) Examination Certificate

The first document required to begin the conformity assessment of an ATEX certified apparatus, is the EC-Type Examination Certificate (under ATEX Directive 94/9/EC) or the EU-Type Examination Certificate (under ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU). This is the ATEX “Certificate of Conformity”. There can be no assessment of conformity without this document.

It is vital to obtain all pages or all issues/supplements/addendums for these certificates, as the later issues (etc) may well been confirmed as complying to recent versions of the EN 60079 series, which are IEC harmonised standards. The complete certificate copies, and all issues, must be placed into the Appendices of the Conformity Assessment document.

ZD5.1 General states as follows:

This Paragraph provides details regarding the necessary documentation required under the ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU associated with the preparation of Conformity Assessment Documents. Listed are the individual documents normally issued in accordance with the A TEX directive that provide the necessary 'objective evidence' that satisfies the requirements of the Directive. It is usually the responsibility of the applicant for a Conformity Assessment Document to provide this information.

NOTE: The ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU applies from 20 April 2016 and the previous ATEX Directive 94/9/EC is still accepted for equipment produced up to 19 April 2016

Notified Body Status

It is essential to check the Notified Body Status of any certifier, for the directive stated on the certificate, bearing in mind the certificate date. This can be found at the following site https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/nando/.. Search under “BODY” using the “Notified Body Number” on the Certificate. Check the EXPIRED date or LAST CERTIFIED data and compare that with the Certificate Issue Date (for the supplements as well as the original certificate). The Notified Body Status can be downloaded as a PDF document from this site and must be included in the Appendices to the Conformity Assessment Document. Print both pages. The relevant details of Page 1 and 2 are shown here:

Declaration of Conformity

While this document has no value as evidence of certification, being a manufacturer’s declaration rather than that of an uninvolved third party. However, it does provide further traceability from the product and the certification to the manufacturer.

The Declaration of Conformity is an undertaking by the Manufacturer to abide by the ATEX Directive and states the standard editions to which the manufacturer claims compliance. These should match those of the most recent issue of the EC-Type or EU-Type Examination Certificate.

QAN or PQAN

The QAN (Quality Assurance Notification) or PQAN (Production Quality Assurance Notification) is the end result of a third party audit of the manufacturers works, to confirm, that the manufacturer, operating under their ISO 9001 accreditation, also meets the requirements of the relevant ATEX Directive, for one or several explosion protection techniques.

High Resolution Photographs

Technically, a sample of the equipment is required. However, in most instances, high resolution photographs of the equipment and its data and marking plates are sufficient.

All certification details including:

• Complete Model Number: CMF200M418N2FZEZZZ (which includes options in the design)
• Year of Manufacture: 2019 (to check this against the certificate validity date)
• Certification marking:   II 2 G Ex ib IIB T5…T1 Gb    IP66/IP67
• Certificate Number: BVS 15 ATEX E 045 X
• Notified Body number: 2460, which in this case is for DNV, which incorporated BVS who was Notified Body number 0158.

Data Sheets and Manuals

Complete Data Sheets and Manuals (or relevant extracts) are also required to ensure that the Manufacturer’s installation instructions and conditions of use are also available to the requester of the CAD.

Competency of Assessor

A valid Statement of Attainment is required for assessment of compliance to various protection techniques. This must accompany all CADs. Refer to AS/NZS 4671.1.

This material is produced by HAZ. The information is of a general nature only and should not be relied upon.  Each set of circumstances associated with compliance of hazardous areas and Type B compliance is unique and expert advice on your particular circumstances should be sought.  HAZ accepts no liability for any reliance on the information published on this website.