EEMUA News

EEMUA CompEx® firmly established as the world's pre-eminent IEC 'Ex' personnel competency scheme

Over 27,000 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 twenty-seven thousand (27,000) 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 a 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.

  • 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 Support for Industrial Asset Management Offshore

    EEMUA provides a wide range of support for engineering equipment users working in the offshore sector.

    As the world's oil and gas reserves become ever more depleted, companies are exploring production in remote locations and increasingly deeper waters. Against this background, EEMUA has developed its guide to subsea materials selection, EEMUA Publication 194, now in its second edition.

    By popular demand, a two and half day training course has been developed by EEMUA based on this publication entitled: 'Subsea Engineering - Materials selection and corrosion control for subsea oil and gas production equipment'. The training course has been prepared for all those involved in the design, specification, commissioning, operation, maintenance, repair, or refurbishment of underwater oil and gas production equipment and related facilities.

    EEMUA's Technical Committees bring together on a regular basis engineers from user companies engaged in offshore exploration and production. Technical areas covered by the Committees include: Electrical engineering, Machinery, Materials Technology, Piping Systems, Pressure Vessels and Pressure Relieving Safety Systems, and more. The Committees have produced a range of user guides and specifications reflecting current best practice amongst user companies in the offshore industry. A full list of such publications is shown overleaf.

    Finally, EEMUA's CompEx® scheme is the world's leading international certification scheme recognising core competency for safe working in potentially hazardous flammable or explosive atmospheres. In 2011, the number of CompEx Certificates of Core Competency issued exceeded 27,000.

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