Since 1987 – Safety Consultancy

Hazardous Area Classification

Eidos develops Hazardous Area Classification (HAC) for project ranging from single/group of equipment to a brand new site. For reviewing HAC on existing plants/sites please refer to Industrial safety.

Eidos can develop HAC at the following stages of the design:

  • FEED
  • Detailed
  • End of the design
  • As built

The HAC prepared during the FEED is usually at-large because in this phase all the information needed are not available to prepare the complete study. Eidos suggests, for petroleum facilities, the use of the method outlined in API RP505 Appendix D that better fits this stage of the design.

The HAC prepared during the “detailed engineering” stage is “engineering oriented” where the goal will be to identify and evaluate quantitatively the impact of any modification to the HAC of the designed system. In this way, by working jointly with the design team, Eidos will supply a list of improvements evaluated singularly.

Carefully planning the HAC leads to shrank classified areas with huge savings on the plant construction.

The HAC prepared on the later two stages are required by law and to meet the contract requirements between the engineering firm and its customer.

Eidos provides Hazardous Area Classification for industrial sites using the following standards as references:

  • IEC 60079-10-1 “Electrical Apparatus for explosive atmosphere – part 10: Classification of areas – explosive gas atmospheres”
  • IEC 60079-10-2 “Electrical Apparatus for explosive atmosphere – part 10: Classification of areas – Combustible dust atmospheres”
  • NFPA 70 “National Electrical Code” 2017 edition
  • API RP500 “Recommended practice for classification of locations for electrical installation at Petroleum facilities classified as Class I, Division 1 and Division 2”
  • API RP505 “Recommended practice for classification of locations for electrical installation at Petroleum facilities classified as Class I Zone 0, Zone 1 and Zone 2”
  • NFPA 30 “Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code”
  • NFPA 49 “Hazardous Chemical Data”
  • NFPA 325 “Guide to fire Hazard Properties of flammable liquids, gases and volatile solids”
  • NFPA 497 “Recommended practice for classification of Class I Hazardous Locations” 2017 edition
  • IP 15 “Model Code of Safe Practice in the Petroleum Industry – Part 15: Area Classification Code for Petroleum Installation”
  • 29 Code of Federal Regulation Part 1910 Subpart H

Eidos provides the classification using, at customer’s choice, the “Division System” (NFPA 70 article 500.5) or the new “Zone System” (NFPA 70 article 505.5 and IEC 60079-10).

All the documentation will be fully compliant with Appendix E Point 6 of API RP505 and/or the European Community law.

In the field of ignition sources, Eidos developed a proprietary method to address this topic covering all the potential sources listed in IEC 1127-1:2011.

Contact Eidos for further information!