Keen hazardous areas people would no doubt be aware of the recent publication of new editions of two of the key standards in the field – AS/NZS 60079.10.1 and AS/NZS 60079.14. The appearance of the 2022 editions was preceded by very little fanfare and it’s fair to say that it took people a little by surprise.

Obviously, being keen hazardous areas folk ourselves, we were quite excited by the new editions and have spent the period since their publication getting our heads around the changes, and over in the Extend Training camp, updating our course materials and assessments to reflect the new state of play.

The changes to 60079.14 are relatively minor compared to the previous edition (2017), and have addressed a few areas of confusion that existed in the previous edition. The biggest change is the removal of Annex ZZ, with variations from the IEC version of the standard now included in the body of the document once again (cue cheering!). The variations are incorporated in a few different ways, and can be slightly clunky still, but it’s a huge improvement on the universally reviled Annex ZZ approach.
The area classification standard, AS/NZS 60079.10.1 has had some significant changes. The fundamental principles haven’t changed, but there have been substantial changes in the areas of ventilation and the associated terminology and calculation methods. The basic standard has been adopted essentially unchanged from the IEC edition, and the Australian commentary and example classifications have been published in a separate volume, AS/NZS 60079.1 Supplement 1. The examples have been modified in some mostly sensible ways and now better align with some of the international standards commonly used by classifiers, which is nice to see. There are some other changes that are more difficult to understand.

Extend Training are pleased to announce that our online refresher course, covering the latest changes AS/NZS 60079.14, is now available for enrolment and that our Hazardous Areas Classification course has now been updated to the new edition of AS/NZS 60079.10.1 (which was a bit of a project!). If you’re keen to update your HA knowledge to the latest and greatest (and let’s face it, why wouldn’t you be?), head on over to the Extend Training website and get in touch – we look forward to hearing from you.