whose responsibility is the lifetimetracking of Ex assets?

a very practical question.

simple answer: - user - enduser - operational team - owner.

see above. there might be several options available. all relevant standards, regulations, guidelines address this topic to the side of operation. neither nor the manufacturer, designer, team of installation (EPC) have ever been mentioned for the identification of assets (in terms of lifetimetracking). certainly their contract might address the topic, and let us be honest they have partial responsibility in it. they have to deliver a longterm Ex functionality, where the responsibility can be taken.

a very important part her to mention if the identification of assets. I (as an operator) have to be in the position at any point of the site and in any minute to deliver the proof of evidence that my Ex asset is according to operation (which shall mean it operates within its design parameters). therefore immediate need there is for an identification as per unit - yes! this unit, installation, asset is Ex now.

many ways are applicable here: - tagging - QR code - barcode - RFID. all have pros and cons.

the most conventional is the tagging.

easy to loose. hard to track. very much dependent on environment. it requires handwriting most of the time - easy to go mistaken.

QR-, barcode and RFIDs need their readers. in any potential Ex environment the reader shall be Ex too. QR- and barcodes easy to copy / paste - quality issues - pretty much depending on environment (not friend of direct sunshine and chemical substances). one possible way of cheating you make a photo about, and use it in the office for further identification.

RFIDs - no copy paste - you need to be close enough to read and write it. if it goes wrong (very rare), there is a timestamp in the system about the change of it. no cheating - the hashtag is guarante for that. easy to adopt to any possible lifetimetracking system (see E.g EPDS or similar).

more information how we do it: https://www.exresearch.eu/exrfid-tag

contact details: [email protected] / WhatsApp: +36 70 300 1624