EEMUA News

EEMUA TankIntro™ training course launches in June 2013

New EEMUA course providing introduction to industrial-scale storage tanks

EEMUA – the Engineering and Equipment Materials Users' Association – has developed and added a new training course to its internationally renowned CompeTank™ Scheme.

The TankIntro™ training course provides an introduction to industrial-scale storage tanks. It gives attendees a basic understanding of the different tank designs, material and fabrication aspects of construction and how tanks should be inspected, maintained and repaired, without going into detailed assessment calculations. The first course is being run on 3-4 June 2013, in Greenwich, Central London, UK.

"There are many individuals in industries around the globe who have a need to know about industrial-scale storage tanks – their design, their construction, their maintenance – but who don't necessarily need to have competency training", says Zoe Bonython, Operations Manager at EEMUA. "This new 1½-day training course will be valuable for these individuals, providing them with a basic understanding of these types of tanks. The new course provides an EEMUA Certificate of Attendance for all those who successfully complete the training."

TankIntro is recommended for inspectors, graduate or other engineers new to working with tanks, as well as tank farm managers, safety representatives, and supervisors involved in recruiting tank integrity assessors and conducting their performance reviews.

It will also be a valuable precursor for anyone seeking TankAssessor™ certification who does not currently meet the TankAssessor course entry criteria. There are no pre-qualification requirements to attend, but participants should have a minimum of one year's relevant industrial experience.

Further information on the new TankIntro training course is available through contacting events@eemua.org or calling EEMUA Events on +44 (0)20 7488 0801.

EEMUA CompEx® growth confirms status as the world's pre-eminent IEC 'Ex' personnel competence scheme

Over 32,000 Certificates of Core Competency now issued!

EEMUA CompEx®, the world's pre-eminent scheme for certifying competency of personnel for IEC 'Ex' hazardous area working, has passed a new milestone in recent weeks with more than thirty-two thousand (32,000) CompEx Certificates of Core Competency now issued since the scheme's inception.

This latest achievement underlines the position of CompEx as by far the world's most important international 'Ex' personnel certification scheme recognising core competency for safe working in potentially hazardous flammable or explosive atmospheres.

Since it was introduced in the 1990s, CompEx has grown strongly every year due to the unique characteristics of the scheme:

  • Formally accredited

    CompEx is operated by a Certification Body formally accredited by UKAS, one of the world's leading accreditation bodies

  • Based on EU ATEX Directives

    The CompEx scheme is based on established national and regional legislation and regulation such as the EU-ATEX Directives

  • Based on IEC 'Ex' Standards

    CompEx is based on international IEC 'Ex' and ISO Standards

    Furthermore, the 'user' organisations behind CompEx contribute to the maintenance and development of these Standards

  • Guaranteed to be most effective

    CompEx is most effective because it combines formal learning and knowledge examination with practical assessment to determine overall core competency. The effectiveness of CompEx is also assured by being owned and overseen by user companies who have a vested interest in ensuring safety in the workplace

  • Excellent value

    CompEx is able to offer excellent value because it is operated by not-for-profit bodies with a mission to ensure and to improve safety in the workplace

  • Unrivalled breadth and depth

    The 12 modules of competency validation that are defined within CompEx produce an IEC 'Ex' scheme of unrivalled breadth and depth, allowing certification for a wide range of personnel and situations:
    - Electrical, mechanical and multi-skilled craftspeople
    - Professional engineers responsible for the design and installation of applications and systems for hazardous 'Ex' areas
    - Managers who oversee the operation of these installations
    - Specially tailored modules for specific sectors: fuel filling stations; the water and wastewater industries; flour mills, coal and other dusty environments besides the oil and gas industry, offshore and onshore, chemical and pharmaceutical industries and many more

  • International and multi-lingual delivery

    CompEx is now delivered via a growing number of licensed Competency Validation centres around the world: from Africa and the Middle-East, to America, Asia, Australasia and Europe Currently delivered in English and Dutch; other languages planned.

EEMUA CompEx® explosive atmospheres - application design engineer competency certification launched

EEMUA CompEx® – the world's leading competency scheme for personnel involved in hazardous area working to IEC 'Ex' standards – has taken a significant step forward in 2012 with the extension of the scheme to encompass professional engineers responsible for design and management of hazardous areas.

Up to now, CompEx has focused primarily on the installers and maintainers. The new CompEx Unit (Ex12) Explosive Atmospheres – Application Design Engineer for professional engineers completes the safety linkage across the lifecycle of the hazardous area workplace from design through plant commissioning and operation (figure below).

The new CompEx Unit Ex12 has been specially developed for professional engineers who design applications and systems for potentially explosive atmospheres, in line with the requirements of the international standard IEC 60079 Part 14. The Unit is also suitable for the professional engineers responsible for managing these hazardous workplaces through their commissioning and operating life.

The first group of candidates to be awarded competency certificates under the new EEMUA CompEx Unit Ex12 included personnel from EEMUA Member Companies AstraZeneca, BG Group, BP, E.ON, National Grid Grain LNG, SABIC and Shell. The successful candidates took part in the first two Ex12 assessments held in Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 at licensed CompEx competency validation centre Intertek in the north-west of the UK.

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