When Pyroban converts a lift truck for use in ATEX Zone 1, 2, 21, or 22 and it leaves our facility, customers can feel assured that its safety systems are working as they should. But after 12 months of heavy use and unreported impacts, how can you be confident that it has stayed safe?
Our Annual Safety Audit, known as an Ex-ASA, is recommended to thoroughly inspect all safety-critical components and systems of Ex-trucks for this very reason. Even if you think your Ex-protected forklift is working fine, it could be placing your operations, and your people, at risk.
Why might an Ex-truck become unsafe?
An unqualified person making any change to an ATEX lift truck could compromise the entire explosion protection solution and make it unsafe. Even if the work was not done specifically to what is considered ‘the Ex-system’. Remember, everything from forks to seats to tyres form part of a Pyroban Ex-conversion!
Any changes made by an unsuitably trained person could prove disastrous, so it’s important that only correctly trained CompEx engineers work on Pyroban converted lift trucks.
These trucks are also often used in very tough environments with frequent unreported impacts, so damage and ‘wear and tear’ can also affect the safe workings of the Ex-conversion. And of course, components have a life span. If maintenance is delayed, these could therefore be past their best, and unknowingly you could be causing a very dangerous risk in your ATEX Zone operations.
Common Ex-truck problems
When we conduct our Pyroban Ex-ASAs, we find that as many as 2 in 10 forklifts are actually unsafe and present with issues that could post real and immediate dangers.
Some of the most frequently encountered issues we find during a Pyroban Ex-ASA are:
- Issues with fork cladding
- Problems with earth straps
- Worn tyres
- DC motor insulation resistance
- Poorly maintained batteries
- Seat cushion wear
- Badly maintained or worn “D” shut-off valves
- Incorrectly repaired (or altered) motors
Any of these issues highlighted could affect the integrity of the whole safety system and render elements of it useless, potentially resulting in a horror story.
How can I check my Ex-forklift is working correctly?
Firstly, book your Pyroban Ex-ASA. The Pyroban Annual Safety Audit is a thorough inspection of all safety-critical components and systems. An Ex-ASA is a solution which provides a means of compliance to the ATEX Directives if carried out annually. An Ex-ASA can also prove beneficial when purchasing a used piece of equipment or following refurbishment or modification.
Currently, all Annual Safety Audits also include a free of charge survey and subsequent quote for Pyroban’s Blue Ex Spot and Red Ex Line safety lights.
We also advise that preventative maintenance is essential. Keeping up with Ex-truck maintenance requirements helps to avoid danger and make sure systems function correctly. However, ensuring that equipment is regularly audited for safety provides extra reassurance and should be a priority for any operation with trucks operating in ATEX Zone 1, 2, 21 or 22 areas, especially if your audit is now overdue.
Book an Ex-ASA now
If you’d like more information or advice about Annual Safety Audits for explosion-protected equipment, please contact the Pyroban team on info@pyroban.com. Alternatively, visit www.pyroban.com or call +44(0)1273 456800.
