IECEx Personnel Competency (CoPC) for hazardous area Ex equipment repair.

Training

You must already be a competent repairer for rotating electrical and/or mechanical equipment. The next step to personal competency is to be trained by an IECEx recognised training provider (RTP) for Ex005 and to understand the requirements of the latest international repair standard IEC 60079:19 Explosive Atmospheres: Repair, Overhaul, and Reclamation.

The AEMT is a leading provider of this training. After completing Modules 1 and Module 2 of our repair course, and passing the AEMT Assessments for theory and hands-on, we will issue a Certificate of Assessment. This certificate means the course assessments have been passed, but does not necessarily mean the individual is competent, until he has gained further experience.

Competence

Competence is built up with regular hands-on experience of repairing Ex equipment after attending the courses. An engineer repairing a lot of equipment every day after the course, could be classified as competent after a period of 6 months, someone seeing fewer motors may take 2 to three years before they could be classified as competent. A work log should be kept as evidence, and signed off by a supervisor or manager. An AEMT work log can be obtained from the Ex Shared Drive. In general most delegates passing their refresher course assessment after three years and having accumulated hands-on experience in their service centres, could apply to an IECEx Assessment Body to take the IECEx Ex 005 assessment.

The work log should include:

1. Date log
2. Job number
3. Equipment Make/model
4. Equipment Power rating
5. Protection concept(s)
6. Standard(s) or Drawing(s) used for the repair.

After initial training, a refresher must be taken every three years in order to stay current with updates to standards and working practices, and also to be re-assessed. Module 3 (or 2R international) of the AEMT Ex Training course are designed for those requiring a 3-year refresher.

Assessment by Certification Body

When experience and relevant training has been accomplished, the person should be ready to sit the Ex Certification Body’s (Ex CB) examination (note that ExCBs do not offer training, this can only be provided by independent bodies such as the AEMT). Please refer to the IEC Operational Document IECEx OD 504 available on the website www.iecex.com for the full criteria of what will be assessed by the Ex CB.

A list of local ExCBs can also be found on the IECEx Website. In the UK we recommend SGS Baseefa, whose contact details can be found below.

Tel: 01298 766 619 SGS Websites: www.sgs.com

On successful completion of the exams, the candidate’s work log and CV (including a list of relevant skills & training, years of experience, and quality systems used) shall form part of the final application to the ExCB to attain their IECEx CoPC.