Conformity Assessment Documents

Conformity Assessment is the demonstration that specified requirements relating to a product, process, system, person or body are fulfilled.

In the context of installing electrical equipment in a hazardous area, AS/NZS 60079.14 requires “assurance of conformity of equipment”. This is achieved by the use of equipment certified as complying with the relevant IEC, AS/NZS or AS hazardous area equipment standards. In Australia, according to AS/NZS 60079.14, only certificates issued under a scheme meeting certain requirements, such as the following, are acceptable.

• AUSEx
• ANZEx
• IECEx

Equipment certified under alternative schemes or to other standards may be used in situations where suitable equipment with acceptable certification is not practically obtainable.

In the 2005 edition of AS/NZS 2381 Part 1 Clause 2.6.2.1 the use of Conformity Assessment Documents [CADs] was introduced as a potential justification for the use of equipment certified to an alternative standard. This has been expanded with the addition of Annex ZD to AS/NZS 60079.14 introduced in 2009 and may be applied where a certificate other than ANZEx or IECEx can be shown to provide an 'equivalent level of safety' to either an ANZEx or IECEx Certificate of Conformity.

Equipment approved for use in Hazardous Locations by a NRTL (e.g. FM, UL or CSA) in North America, or with a Type Examination Certificate issued in accordance with the ATEX directive 94/9/EC are examples of equipment certified to an alternative standard which may be suitable for Conformity Assessment.

E-x Solutions can advise the possibility of preparing a CAD from the documentation available. By using E-x Solutions you can rest assured that the assessment will be conducted correctly and efficiently by one of our experienced electrical engineers.