The introduction in the late 1990’s of the The Zone classification system was con-
Zone electrical area classification concept sidered to provide the maximum flexibility
into North American standards provided the and safety in hazardous locations. Therefore,
catalyst for a major international oil Company it was considered preferable over the Division
based in Saudi Arabia to convert from the system from a cost, safety, maintenance and
›Division‹ to the ›Zone‹ method of area classi- reliability viewpoint. In late 1999, the Company
fication. decided to convert from a Division to Zone
The Company initially relied on North Classification system.
American standards to purchase materials This paper will discuss details of why and
but, over the years, sourcing of materials, how the Company made the change and the
and design and construction services gradu- impact of the migration on electrical and
ally shifted away from North America. This instrumentation installations within the Com-
required the Company to restructure their pany.
standards and accept materials and installa-
tion practices from all over the world. Today,
the Company standards accept materials
and installation techniques from a variety of
international sources.
Ex-Zeitschrift 2005 64 | 65
Introduction provided guidance on equipment application cal and instrumentation installation practices
in both Zone and Division classified areas, in Saudi Aramco facilities.
Since the company’s inception over 50 the Company standards remained solely Although the Company has plants that
years ago, company standards have required based upon the Division classification sys- date back to the 1940s or earlier, the majority
that electrical classification of processing tem. of the existing facilities were constructed
facilities be based upon the Class/Division/ Neither the ›Division‹ nor ›Zone‹ system is during the 1970s and 1980s when production
Group method. overwhelmingly superior, however, the was expanded and a system was put in place
The decision to change from Division benefit of the ›Zone‹ system simplifies the to collect and utilize gas, produced in associ-
to Zone classification was not an easy one. application of equipment built to either North ation with crude oil. In addition to the NEC,
There were a number of issues to be con- American or European standards. Despite other basic reference standards used for
sidered. Some of the considerations were this benefit, changing from Division to Zone electrical equipment and installation include:
common within the process industry and classification was a major decision. The ANSI, IEEE, NEMA, ICEA, AEIC, UL, ISA, etc.
others were specific to the individual operat- conversion required planning, investment of These references, which now include refer-
ing environment of the Company. time in changing standards and an ongoing ences to IEC equipment standards for some
With few exceptions, most of the Com- effort in educating engineers, inspectors, and equipment , are supplemented by fairtly
pany plants have very small Division 1 areas, operations and maintenance technicians. extensive Company standards that provide
surrounded by extensive Division 2 areas. additional specific requirements that are not
Division 1 areas typically involve electrical spelled out in the reference standards. In
equipment and instrumentation associated Corporate Standards some cases, Company standards delete or
with ship loading, tank inventory, monitoring modify the reference standard requirements.
systems, and in-line process analysers. Due Standards Structure
to the limited extent of Division 1 locations, The design and construction of Company Accommodating international Equipment
in the majority of installations, the benefits of facilities is governed by a family of documents Suppliers in Division Based Company
using the Zone classification system is not consisting of materials specifications, engi- Standards
obvious. neering standards, and standard drawings. Most electrical equipment supplied
Company policy is to contract and pur- By corporate policy these documents are to the Company that is not manufactured to
chase on a worldwide basis. This requires mandatory. Deviations and questions of inter- North American standards, is built to IEC
application of electrical equipment in hazard- pretation must be directed to the corporate or IEC based standards. For this reason, the
ous areas that are designed and approved engineering organization. Deviations must be following discussion relates primarily to the
based on both North American and Interna- supported by this organization and formally application of IEC based equipment.
tional, Electrotechnical Commission® (IEC®) approved by the managers of the engineering Two approaches have been used in the
standards. and inspection departments. past to accept equipment and material manu-
The Company standards have, for many factured to IEC standards. The first was
years, allowed combinations of IEC and Role of Standards for engineers in the corporate engineering
North American equipment. It was recog- Given the background of the Company, it department to perform an evaluation of the
nized that there would be advantages to is not difficult to understand why the engi- proposed equipment or material on a case-by
migrating to a ›Zone‹ classification system. neering codes and standards have tradition- case basis to see if it provided equivalent
However, since Company installation practices ally been North American based. The NEC is functionality and safety to North American
are based on North American codes and a key part of Company standards and heavily standards based equipment for the specific
practices, until the National Electrical Code® influences electrical installations in Company application. The second, and preferred
(NEC®), American Petroleum Institute®, facilities. Therefore, an electrical engineer approach, was to modify the Company stand-
(API ®), and other North America standards working in a process facility on the Texas ards to define conditions and requirements
adopted the Zone classification system and Gulf coast would be very familiar with electri- for use of equipment and material Î
Conversion from Division to zone electrical classification
manufactured to IEC standards. Adoption > If used outdoors the minimum degree Inspection Authority
of the Zone concept for the classification of of protection of enclosure is IP 56.
hazardous areas will almost eliminate the > Conduit Fittings The Company is its own ›inspection au-
need for case-by-case evaluations. Ex d conduit fittings were permitted with thority‹. There are no comprehensive national
In the early 1980s Company standards the exception that only conduit sealing standards or national regulations governing
were modified to define parameters for use fittings approved by North American test- third party inspection. The responsibilities of
of cables manufactured to IEC standards in ing agencies are permitted. This was due the ›authority having jurisdiction‹ mentioned
hazardous (and non-hazardous) locations. to past problems with conduit sealing in the NEC are with the corporate engineer-
Subsequently, additional requirements were fittings approved in Europe. ing department.
added to allow safe use of other equipment > Cable Sealing Fittings
built to IEC standards in hazardous locations. Ex d ›barrier type‹ cable sealing fittings
The following are some examples of modifi- (i.e. include a poured or compound type Zone VS Division
cations made to Company standards to adopt material to fill the interstice within the
equipment manufactured to IEC standards: conduit or cable) are permitted for use Requirements Outside the United States [1]
> Cables with enclosures required to be sealed by The major organization for worldwide
For cables, the requirements are relatively the NEC. Ex d ›non-barrier‹ gland fittings electrical standards is the International
straightforward. Low voltage IEC type that do not incorporate a sealing com- Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), based in
cables are required to be built to pound are not permitted for use with Ex d Geneva. Technical Committee 31 is responsi-
IEC 60502-1, be rated 600/1000 V and a enclosures. The requirement for Ex d ble for all hazardous area equipment.
minimum of 85°C, and meet the flame test ›Barrier type‹ seal fittings was originally As a result of the European Common
of IEC 60332-2. Medium voltage cables intended to meet the apparent intent of Market initiative, a directive was issued in
are built to IEC 60502-2 and to the addi- the NEC which only refers to seals that the 1970s to harmonize the standards for
tional requirements of a Company material use a sealing compound. This requirement electrical equipment used in hazardous
specification. Both medium voltage for a ›barrier type‹ cable seal has been areas. The purpose was to facilitate trade.
and low voltage cables are permitted in reinforced by ISA 12.22.01 which requires The European Committee for Electrotechnical
hazardous locations any place where ›poured‹ or ›moulded‹ seals for use with Standardization (CENELEC) was assigned
›cables having similar construction to ›direct entry‹ enclosures. this task and directed to base their new
those listed in NEC Article 501-4 (b)‹ are > Switch racks standards on the IEC. This work was com-
permitted. Steel wire or steel tape ar- The Company specification describes the pleted and the standards were published.
moured cables built to IEC 60502-1 or 2 minimum features required in the equip- These standards are similar to the IEC
can be used in lieu of Metal-Clad (MC) ment and allows the manufacturer the standards, but not identical, thus process
cable except in Division 1 locations. flexibility of building the switch rack with of reconciling the differences is ongoing.
Requirements for other equipment and mate- a combination of ANSI/NEMA or IEC In addition, to the Common Market, many
rials are more complex. material and installation techniques. Western European countries adopted the
> Flameproof enclosures > Instrument Protection Methods: standards. The Common Market eventually
Flameproof EX d II enclosures were Ex ›n‹ (non-incentive) instruments were evolved into the European Community (EC)
permitted in Division 1 and 2 locations allowed in Division 2 areas and Ex ›ia‹ and in the 1980s directives were published
provides that: (intrinsically safe) instruments or instru- that required the member countries to in-
> NEC requirements for cable entry ments in Ex d II enclosures were required corporate the CENELEC (i.e. EN) standards
are met. in all Division 1 locations. The use of into their national standards. In 1994 the
> The overall enclosure is rated EX d II. Ex ›e‹ (increased safety) junction boxes ATEX Directive 94/9/EC was issued, which
> The enclosure is metal or has an and terminal housings was limited to mandated that all equipment put into service
integral bonding device. Division 2 applications only. after June 2003 have the ›CE‹ mark affixed
Ex-Magazine 2005 66 | 67
The 1999 NEC provided better guidelines several advantages were identified. The key How the change to Zone was accomplished
for Zone classification but imposed additional advantages were:
labelling requirements that limits the selec- > Allow the selection of a broader range of The mechanism used to implement the
tion of equipment, which can be installed to materials and installation techniques, change was a rewrite of the Company
those certified by North American approval > Eliminate the confusion and possible engineering standard SAES-B-068 ›Electrical
agencies. misapplication of Zone certified equip- Area Classification‹. This revised standard
ment in Division classified areas, and requires the following:
> Align the Company with, what we believe
Why the change to Zone classification? will be the future international standards. 1. All new facilities, or extensions to
As mixtures of equipment and installation existing facilities be classified by the ›Zone‹
Historically, the Company has relied heavily methods were occurring based on guidelines method using API RP 505 as the guideline
on the NEC. Over the last 10+ years there in corporate standards, the adoption of the The following is the wording in the
was a gradual evolution of the Company Zone concept was seen as increasingly standard:
standards to accept more and more devia- desirable, but not considered practical, given ›Area Classification Drawings shall be
tions from the NEC related to alternate instal- the primary reliance on the NEC and other developed for all facilities where flammable
lation techniques and equipment. This was North American standards. The issuance of liquids, gases, or vapours are produced,
as a result of the following: API RP 505 in 1997 removed most obstacles processed, stored or handled. This applies
> Experience gained from building to the conversion process and the Company to new facilities, or extensions/additions to
facilities with international contractors began the process of adopting the Zone existing facilities. The classifications shall
and suppliers concept in mid-1999. Furthermore, the be performed using the Class I/Zone/Group
> Need for more corrosion resistant decision to change was more comfortable method per guidelines within API RP505 and
products for offshore/near shore given the fact that a reputable, national code this standard.
environments making body (i.e. Canadian Standards Exception: Extensions/additions to
> Proximity to, and interaction with Association® (CSA®)) via the 1998 Canadian existing facilities already classified by the
European and Asian manufacturers and Electrical Code® (CEC®) had adopted a Zone ›Division‹ method can be classified by the
suppliers of IEC equipment concept essentially identical to what the same method with approval of the Chief Fire
> Availability of locally manufactured Company wanted. Prevention Engineer.‹
IEC products In late 1999, standards revisions were Although problems are not anticipated
> Flexibility to use ‹engineering judgment‹ drafted to begin the migration of the Company with the intermixing of the classification
since there were no constraints imposed exclusively to the Zone classification method. systems, it is recognized that it would be best
by national/local regulations if the entire facility were classified using the
The result was that the Company’s stand- same method. By default, however, the above
ards were modified over time to allow a wording requires a new area classification
limited mixture of IEC and North American to, or within an existing ›Division‹ classified
equipment and installation techniques. facility, be classified by the ›Zone‹ method.
In addition, the Company material specifica-
tions for items such as electronic instrumen- 2. Existing ›Division‹ classified
tation, switchgear, controlgear (i.e. motor facilities which have been extended to be
control centers), switch racks etc. evolved reclassified to ›Zone‹.
to accept designs built to either North The following is the wording in the standard:
American or IEC based standards. ››If a ›Zone‹ classification is added to an
When considering the switch to the Zone existing facility that was classified by the
system of hazardous area classification, Class I/Division/Group method, it is highly
Ex-Magazine 2005 68 | 69
Why follow API RP505 instead of IEC 79-10? Type of equipment allowed facilities and has very little control over
the quality of their craftsmen. The Company
Adoption of API RP 505 makes the transi- Equipment Approval and Labelling oversees training of its tradesmen since
tion to a Zone classification method fairly Equipment required in the NEC to be there is no in-country certification body.
seamless. The classification approach and approved for use in a hazardous location is Consequently there has always been, and
methodology is the same as with the Division required by Company standards to be listed, still is, a concern over systems whose safe
method ›(i.e. use of ›Class 1‹ designation labelled or certified by specific approval application is heavily dependant upon
with the Zone, use of ›transition‹ Zones etc.). agencies. Currently, the Company standards > ›system approval‹ design concepts
Additionally, this is consistent with our lists three North American laboratories and > routine maintenance or
practice of relying primarily on North Ameri- eight European laboratories as being accept- > rule interpretation by design or
can codes and practices. able for approval of equipment used in haz- construction contractors.
ardous locations. Due to changes in labora- The following are examples of some of
tories and agreements between laboratories the issues that had to be addressed during
Comparison between NEC/CEC and compa- we are in the process of reviewing these re- the conversion from Division to Zone
ny approach the classification and labelling quirements. This does not restrict equipment classification:
purchases to equipment approved in North > Intrinsically Safe (IS) Systems
Canadian Electrical Code (CEC) America and does not require equipment to These systems have always been subject
The Company approach is basically be market with ›Class/Zone criteria‹ of ›AEx‹. to a case-by-case approval by the
the same as that taken by the CEC. The only This is explained and documented in our Company engineering organization. This
significant difference is that the default Company standards. will remain the case for the foreseeable
CEC wording allows existing ›Division‹ classi- The NEC’s requirement for manufacturers future. The Company is reviewing whether
fied facilities to be expanded using the same to re-certify, re-test and re-label equipment standard drawings can be developed to
classification method. The default wording for different markets was considered a sig- eliminate the need for case-by-case
of the Company standard is the opposite nificant barrier. For the end user of the equip- approval. Although historically, there
(i.e. to classify a facility expansion to the ment, it adds cost, limits selection and delays were very few IS applications within the
existing Division classification system requires the availability of the product. The Company company, IS installations have become
special approval). encourages any system whose goal is to more common as more instrumentation
As with the CEC, the Company approach harmonize standards, achieve worldwide ac- suppliers are providing IS devices as their
and the NEC approach are that facilities can ceptance and universal labelling. An example standard product offering. Therefore, this
be classified using either the ›Class/Division‹ is the IECEx scheme sponsored by the IEC [11]. is an area that will require additional
or ›Class/Zone‹ method, different classifica- attention and continued vigilance in the
tions are accepted in a facility, and installa- Concerns Which Were, and Remain to be future. At this time, Company standards
tion techniques (conduit and cable sealing Resolved standardize on ›ia‹ systems for both
requirements, etc.) are consistent. As previously indicated, the Company Zone 0 and Zone 1 applications. We do
One key exception taken by the Company standards have accepted some, but notall, not believe allowing use of ›ib‹ in Zone 1
to the NEC is the marking requirements for IEC equipment types and installation tech- locations would result in significant
Zone equipment, ref. NEC 505-10 (b) (2). The niques for many years. Some equipment, savings. Standardizing on ›ia‹ makes IS
NEC requires all Zone certified equipment to wiring methods and protection techniques applications more straightforward.
be market with the ›AEx‹ symbol to identify have been accepted outright while others Non-incentive devices are permitted in
that the instrument meets United States stand- have been prohibited and some require Zone 2.
ards. The Company accepts both EEx and special approval. > Barrier Glands
AEx marked equipment. Re-testing of equip- The Company uses contractors from all The Company standards historically
ment carrying the Ex type mark is not required. over the world to design and build its required ›barrier type‹ seals on conduit or
Ex-Magazine 2005 70 | 71
cable entries into enclosures that were nullifying the increased safety character- by NFPA 70 Article 505. However, the
required to be explosion proof/flameproof. istics, it was decided not to accept additional types of protection permitted
This will remain the case for the time increased safety motor installations for under NEC Art. 505 will have to be thoroughly
being, and we will be re-evaluating installation in Zone 1 locations. For Zone 2 discussed in internal electrical safety
whether there is a substantial benefit in locations, we intend to continue to accept training courses. Currently most electrical
allowing non-barrier type glands. With the non-certified squirrel-cage induction engineers and many maintenance technicians
Company’s extensive use of armoured motors as permitted by the NEC. are familiar with the NEC and routinely use
cable, and given the advances in > Restricted Breathing Light Fixtures it for reference. NEC Art. 505 will be the
equipment design (use of Ex n, non- The Company believes there may be a sig- primary reference for electrical and instru-
incendive instruments), there is decreas- nificant cost benefit in allowing restricted mentation installation both in the Company
ing need for explosion containment type breathing lighting fixtures. There are standards and internal training courses.
seals, and there will be explosion con- concerns with accepting a design that The Company currently conducts a one-
tainment type seals. Therefore, there relies on gasket material for safety week training course on electrical design
will be very few installations where integrity especially with the high ambient in hazardous areas. One day of this course
the ›barrier type‹ Ex d fitting is actually in Saudi Arabia. This issue is still under is already dedicated to IEC concepts. The
required to complete the explosion proof evaluation. course will be re-written to shift this balance.
enclosure. Although not developed yet, we believe that
> Increased Safety other courses specifically directed to crafts-
Prior to conversion to Zone classification Training men and electrical inspectors will also be
the Company did not accept the increased needed.
safety protection method. After the One important aspect of the decision
conversion, the increased safety protec- to migrate to a Zone based classification
tion method was accepted with two scheme was training considerations. Cost of conversion
exceptions: Part of the justification to make the transi-
(1) the use of junction boxes in Zone 1 tion from Division to Zone classification was The only cost associated with converting
areas for instrumentation cabling systems that it would be relatively straightforward. the Company from a Division classification
and Using the guidelines of the NEC, API, RP505, system to a Zone system was the indirect
(2) the use of increased safety motor and ISA 12 24 01, area classification in the man-hour cost for revising the Loss Preven-
systems. Zone system should not be difficult for engi- tion standard, which was minimal. Over time,
For junction boxes, given the constraints neers who are familiar with classification additional man-hours will need to be spent
to adding terminations, adding cables or under the Division system. As previously on training related activities (e.g. revision
general modifications with increased mentioned, one area of concern is the and developing the Company course as
safety junction boxes, it was decided not tendency of engineers who are accustomed mentioned above). Reclassification of
to accept them for instrumentation to classifying under IEC 79-10 to have large existing facilities is being encouraged. The
cabling systems in Zone 1 areas. This will Zone 1 areas surrounded by relatively small only cost associated with this reclassifi-
be reviewed on a periodic basis as we Zone 2 areas. We expect our Zone classified cation is the manpower required to revise
obtain more experience dealing with facilities to be similar to our Division the classified area drawings.
installations in Zone 1 areas and the use classified facilities with relatively small Zone 1 Although a solely ›IEC installation‹ may
of increased safety equipment. areas surrounded by much larger Zone 2 not be less expensive than an ›ANSI‹ ›NEMA
For increased safety motor systems, given areas. This will be addressed in our internal installation‹ [10], Company installations
the limited number of motor applications training. are expected to be less expensive simply
in a Zone 1 area, and the concern over Equipment application should not be because a wider choice of materials and
inadvertently modifying the design and difficult considering the guidelines published installation techniques will be allowed Î
Conversion from Division to zone electrical classification
and an intermix of IEC and ANSI/NEMA [11]. Universal adoption of this scheme would
material and installations will be accepted. be another welcome major step in achieving
As mentioned previously, lower cost was maximum flexibility in specifying, purchasing,
not the only motivator for making the con- and applying hazardous area equipment.
version. Safety is a factor and having a wider
choice of materials and installation tech-
niques will allow optimisation of the design
for the environmental and operating condi-
tions (e.g. better selection of materials in
highly corrosive areas). This is expected to
result in lower long-term costs and higher
reliability.
Conclusion
Bibliography