From Digitalization to Smart Safety Governance: Industrial Practices in Hazardous Area Safety Integration

Integrated intelligent safety links five layers — perception, transmission, data, application and governance — into a data chain that is actually used, rather than procuring equipment point by point. The difference is that in a hazardous area, every one of these layers carries an extra compliance condition: the sensors in the perception layer, the wireless devices in the transmission layer, and the handheld devices in the application layer must all have explosion-protection performance that matches the area classification before they are even allowed on site.

Point-by-point procurement commonly ends up in one of two ways — equipment is bought but cannot be brought into the area, or it is installed but the data never reaches the management system. Integration requires field status to enter the platform in real time, and to actually be used in inspection, maintenance and periodic inspection records.

Not necessarily. A common approach is to add external sensing, data acquisition or interface conversion so that the status of existing equipment can be read.

But in an explosive hazardous area, two things cannot be skipped. First, any device added must itself meet the explosion-protection requirements for that area, and any device with wireless transmission must also pass NCC type approval — "it's only a small sensor" is not an exemption. Second, the explosion-protected construction of the original equipment must not be compromised for the sake of wiring or installation — drilling into a flameproof enclosure, making unauthorized openings, or substituting non-original parts can all invalidate that equipment's original certified status, at which point the whole unit is effectively non-compliant.

In practice, the safer direction is to prioritize measurement methods that do not touch the original equipment body, or to integrate at the existing explosion-proof junction box or control box. The workable options must be assessed case by case by personnel with both process and electrical backgrounds.

No. Mobile devices used inside an explosive hazardous area must be of intrinsically safe construction (Ex ia / Ex ib), and the equipment protection level must match the area classification on site. Consumer-grade tablets and phones are not designed to this standard — the battery and charging circuit alone are a potential ignition source.

And explosion protection is only the first hurdle. Any device with wireless transmission capability — handheld devices, Wi-Fi access points, IoT sensors — also falls under the Telecommunications Management Act and must pass NCC type approval. These are two separate approvals under two separate authorities, and neither substitutes for the other.

If there is a genuine operational need to bring in non-explosion-protected equipment, it must go through the plant's temporary work permit procedure — this is not something to decide on the spot because it's "just for a moment."

It is not advisable for a single department to complete it alone. Under the Ministry of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Guidelines for the Installation of Explosion-protected Electrical Equipment in Explosive Hazardous Areas of Undertakings, hazardous area classification should involve personnel with process, equipment knowledge, safety, electrical and other engineering backgrounds, and should be carried out in accordance with the national standard CNS 3376-10 or the international standard IEC 60079-10; the result should be documented in drawings or documents — at minimum a plan view and an elevation view — and properly retained.

The guidelines also require two things that are often overlooked. First, this documentation must be made available to personnel or organizations authorized to design, install, inspect, maintain or operate electrical equipment at that location. Second, whenever a change in process or layout affects how flammable materials may accumulate, the classification data should be reviewed and revised.

In other words, area classification is not a one-time document that's filed away once it's done — it needs to be findable, readable and kept current. This is also the precondition for whether going intelligent can work at all: if the classification is unclear or out of date, the equipment selection and data interpretation that follow will be wrong with it.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides an online tool, the "Explosion-protected Electrical Equipment and Hazardous Area Classification Information Platform" (exproof.osha.gov.tw), which the guidelines themselves reference.