In today’s episode of the Dust Safety Science podcast, we’re speaking with Terry McDonald, Sales & Business Development Manager with Thorne and Derrick based out of the UK, about fake ATEX products and fake certificates.
We were inspired to conduct this interview after Terry posted a message on LinkedIn about fake ATEX products and a presentation he plans to give at the upcoming HazardEx Conference. Since we have been hearing more about fake systems and fake certificates of systems from Dust Safety Professionals member companies, as well as end-users around the world, we reached out to him about it.
In this episode, Terry answers the following questions:
- How is combustible dust treated within the ATEX framework?
- How do fake products and certificates make their way into the market?
- What can companies do to avoid them?
How is Combustible Dust Treated Within the ATEX Framework?
“With regard to dust and gas in the UK, they are often considered as one,” Terry says. “I would say that in the industry, knowledge in the UK is much better when it comes to gas atmospheres than dust atmospheres, and people just use the terminology ‘explosive atmosphere’. Somebody has to actually know and understand a bit more about the regulations to then delve further into the difference between gas risks and dust risks, and the difference that has on the types of equipment that can and should be used in those areas.”
What is the ATEX Framework? How Does It Work in Terms of Certification?
Terry said that from a safety point of view, ATEX is designed to ensure that any product that finds its way onto the hazardous area market is compliant with the relevant standards. The manufacturer is solely responsible for all the risks and must know and be the technical authority on the product they are producing.
“You might think it is fair comment. If they’re going to develop a product, they should be the technical authority on it. However, there are manufacturers out there that spend 90-95% of the time manufacturing non-ATEX products and then one day develop an ATEX product and they haven’t got the first clue about ATEX equipment.”
He added that ATEX also puts the risk on the end user.
“It’s the end users’ responsibility to ensure any equipment that they put into use on their site and with their employees is safe and fit for purpose and compliant.”
How Do Fake Products and Certificates Make Their Way into the Market?
Terry explained that in his opinion, a big problem in the industry is the training and knowledge of the people involved. A lot of them aren’t suitably qualified and trained to purchase this type of equipment.
“There is a lot to learn, and even to understand the numbers on a certificate and what they all actually mean is almost impossible for someone like myself, never mind a buyer who’s responsible for probably millions of pounds worth of spends within organizations on multiple different types of products and equipment. For them to be experts in specifically hazardous area equipment is impossible.”
He pointed out that the engineers within those companies are supposed to lead and help specify and select the correct equipment, but if the main driver is cost, then it’s the buyer that makes that decision.
“That’s how fake products and fake certificates get onto the marketplace- because of lack of knowledge… You don’t know what you don’t know. How can you know that a certificate is incorrect or wrong if you don’t know what it’s supposed to say? A certificate might be put in front of someone and it says it complies with Standard X. How does that person looking at that certificate not know that it’s supposed to comply with Standard X and Standard Y? They don’t. They just believe what’s in front of them on a piece of paper, and then they rely on that certificate of conformity, and they put their trust in the person or the company supplying that equipment that the equipment they are going to receive is correct.”
There are two types of COMAH systems in the UK: Tier 1 and Tier 2. COMAH stands for “Care Of Major Accidents And Hazards.” In simple terms, Tier 1 is the most dangerous and Tier 2 is the second most dangerous. With a Tier 1 COMAH site, the organization tends to have much better knowledge than most because they have to. Still, there are risks and challenges.
“Let’s take the example of a large organization that has a paint shop, a spray booth, and that’s the only hazardous area on the site. So they don’t have the knowledge and expertise inside of their organization to be able to purchase correctly certified equipment. They trust people like Thorne and Derrick and all the companies that what they tell them is true. The ATEX Directive puts all the risk really on the manufacturer of the equipment and the end user. There’s very little, almost no risk on the people in between – companies like Thorne and Derrick.”
A lot of fake equipment is sold online by faceless organizations through the internet. Terry admitted that it angers him when companies buy from these websites.
“We have to go through approved vendor procedures to supply a lot of the companies that we supply. I’m a big advocate of that. But when one of those companies gets caught out and perhaps is desperate for a piece of equipment, they bypass that approved vendor list and they’ll do a one-off purchase via online using a company credit card and buy the equipment. That’s how the equipment ends up on site because nobody’s done the due diligence of the equipment that they’re buying and they believe what they’re reading.”
He recently looked at a website and saw a product labeled as an ATEX certified ventilation fan, certified for use in gas and dust atmospheres. However, it was clearly fake. There were no Ex markings or certificates available to download. But an untrained buyer would not know the difference.
Self-Certification Can Cause Challenges
The manufacturer is the technical authority- they’re supposed to identify which standards their product or piece of equipment has to comply with. They then have to work with a third party, an independent notified body who is registered to test that equipment and sign a certificate that says that equipment conforms to those standards.
However, ATEX permits Zone 2 self-certification – which means a manufacturer can self-certify a piece of equipment that will be used in Zone 2. This can cause issues.
“It’s cost prohibitive to put a bespoke piece of equipment through certification. I get that,” Terry says. “But I don’t believe that a manufacturer can self-certify without having some level of conflict of interest because ultimately for them it’s about the commercials, it’s about selling the product.”
He recalled that around 10 years ago, a manufacturer approached Thorne and Derrick with an infrared ATEX heater. Luckily, it didn’t cause an explosion, but the glass shattered and exposed the heater inside of the infrared heater.
“So we took that back to the manufacturer and asked for them to do their analysis on why that had happened. And they came back and said that the reason for both instances was that it was user error…. We said, “Well, this product isn’t fit for purpose. There’s no way that that product can be used in these kind of environments without getting dirty, without getting a build up of dust.” So we removed it from our portfolio. It was a self-certified product. That product still remains on the marketplace. That manufacturer is still selling that piece of equipment.”
Conclusion
At the end of the interview, Terry had the following words of advice.
“Firstly, you’ve got to improve the knowledge and training of your persons responsible. Yes, you should check the certificates and declaration of conformity, and nobody should be using equipment before going through that due diligence process. And absolutely use trusted and approved vendors…. If one person does things differently, it can lead to safety improvements.”
If you would like to discuss further, leave your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also reach Terry McDonald directly:
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrterrymcdonald/
Website: http://www.heatingandprocess.com/
If you have questions about the contents of this or any other podcast episode, you can go to our ‘Questions from the Community’ page and submit a text message or video recording. We will then bring someone on to answer these questions in a future episode.
Resources mentioned
Dust Safety Science
Combustible Dust Incident Database
Dust Safety Science Podcast
Questions from the Community
Dust Safety Academy
Dust Safety Professionals
Dust Safety Share
Companies
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