IECEx assessment and certification of personnel competencies for individuals working in hazardous locations

The International Electrotechnical Commission System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx) has expanded its scope from simply product certification, to include the certification of individuals working in or with hazardous location industries. After a considerable amount of development work the "Assessment and Certification of Personnel Competencies" for individuals working in hazardous locations program was launched by the lECEx. The program is designed to provide independent verification that individuals holding an "lECEx Certificate of Personnel Competency" (CoPC) have the qualifications, experience and competency necessary to work in their field. While this program has only recently been finalized, owner companies are already looking at it as a means to qualifying individuals working in their facilities or those in engineering firms that are contracted by them.