Operator Responsibility, Documentation, And Measures; Risk Assessment / Explosion Protection Document; Employee Training And Protocols - Binder VDL Series Operating Manual

2.

Operator responsibility, documentation, and measures

This is NOT an exhaustive list of the required measures and documents!
Follow applicable national and international regulations.
The chamber is intended for commercial use. The operator must know, comply with, and implement the
relevant regulations on occupational safety. In particular, this includes the conditions of the Industrial
Safety Regulation 1999/92/EC (Title: Improvement of the Health Protection and Safety of Workers Who
May Be Endangered by Explosive Atmospheres). Known as ATEX 137, this directive was implemented in
Germany through the Industrial Safety Regulation (BetrSichV) and the Ordinance on Hazardous Sub-
stances (GefStoffV).
2.1

Risk assessment / explosion protection document

First, a risk assessment is carried out to determine the hazards that are present where the chamber is
used due to the working conditions. When documenting the risk assessment, the operator must provide
specific evidence of the hazards posed by explosive mixtures in the explosion protection document.
When creating the explosion protection document, follow applicable national regulations (for Germany:
Industrial Safety Regulation (BetrSichV); Ordinance on Hazardous Substances (GefStoffV)).
In particular, the explosion protection document must indicate
• Determination and evaluation of explosion hazards
• Explosion protection plan
The explosion protection plan to be created by the operator represents the entirety of the technical
and organizational measures for explosion protection determined and specified on the basis of the risk
assessment. These measures should prevent the formation of hazardous explosive mixtures or to limit
or prevent their ignition. They should also minimize the spread of an explosion and its effects
The explosion protection document serves to document the results of the risk assessment in accord-
ance with § 6 Para. 9 GefStoffV (for Germany).
• Classification as explosion protection zones
• Explosion protection measures
• Cooperation with various companies
• Test findings on explosion protection and technical protection measures
2.2

Employee training and protocols

The operator must ensure that all employees have read and understood the Operating Manual.
Before employees use the vacuum drying oven and related work equipment for the first time, the operator
must provide them with sufficient and suitable information on the hazards presented and measures to be
taken in a form and language that is understandable.
This includes the information resulting from the risk assessment:
• Hazards when using the vacuum drying oven and related work equipment, in particular fire and explo-
sion hazards, functioning of protective devices
• Required protective measures and code of conduct
• Necessity of wearing personal protective equipment, which must be implemented ESD protected.
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