Hazardous area electricians, Geelong and Melbourne
Gordon McKay’s team of hazardous area electricians specialises in maintaining a safe working environment where an explosive atmosphere is present. No matter whether your entire facility requires hazardous area classification, or whether a new process or plant is introduced – the equipment needs to be included in a hazardous area dossier.
Our team are Geelong and Melbourne’s hazardous area experts. We can replace, procure, service, maintain, calibrate, inspect and document hazardous area instruments and equipment, ensuring the safety of employees and communities in an environment with an explosive atmosphere.
We take care of all aspects of hazardous area management, providing services from estimating through to project management, replacing instruments, scheduling labour and liaising with stakeholders.
Gordon McKay performs hazardous area classifications, installation and instrumentation for industry-leading facilities including Clariant, GrainCorp and Viva.
Hazardous area installations
Together with our partner business, Hazardous Area Solutions, we perform hazardous area installations for refineries, terminals, storage facilities, manufacturing plants, breweries, plastic factories, coal mines, gas pipelines and pumping stations.
Any facility or plant equipment that provides an explosive atmosphere is deemed a hazardous area. Our specially trained industrial electricians design and install different types of electrical equipment and protection in hazardous areas, including:
- Ex d flameproof enclosures
- Ex e increased safety equipment
- Ex i intrinsically safe electrical equipment
- Ex n non-sparking equipment
- Ex tD protection by enclosure (dust).
As part of our hazardous area installations, we help select cabling and earthing systems for instruments and equipment, ensuring the correct materials, installation methods and techniques are used in compliance with:
- AS/NZS 60079.14:2009 Explosive atmospheres – Electrical installations design, selection and erection
- AS/NZS 60079.17:2009 Explosive atmospheres – Electrical installations inspection and maintenance.
Gordon McKay is certified by ISNetwork to operate at petrochemical sites, maintaining an A-grade accreditation for quality and OHS&E. We stay up to date with all required training, certification, licenses and documentation.
Hazardous area classification and assessments
At Gordon McKay, we take safety seriously. Our hazardous area electricians help maintain a high level of safety for employees and communities associated with hazardous areas. Through hazardous area classification and assessment, we help clients minimise the risk of electrical ignition sources in an explosive environment.
Our personnel have completed additional training to provide services in compliance with regulatory standards;
AS/NZS 60079.10.1:2009 Explosive atmospheres – Classification of Areas – Explosive gas atmospheres
AS/NZS 60079.10.2:2009 Explosive atmospheres – Classification of Areas – Combustible dust atmospheres.
Hazardous area assessments identify the schedule of release – where the potential exists in a process for gas to be released, creating an explosive atmosphere. Hazardous area classification aims to identify the temperature class, gas group and define the extent of the zone for the hazardous area.
Based on the schedule of release, we can identify the hazardous area zone for the piece of equipment, process or plant. Hazardous area classification enables the owner operators of the facility to select the appropriate equipment for that zone, including motors, lights and instruments.
Following hazardous area classification, our clients receive a report including the schedule of release and zone area drawings. This ensures clients have access to the minimum requirements for future equipment installation in hazardous area zones.
Maintenance plays an important role in the ongoing safety of personnel in hazardous areas. Our industrial electricians are trained to provide three types of inspections for electrical equipment in the field, including:
- detail inspection
- visual inspection
- close inspection.
Inspections are documented as part of the auditing of existing equipment including motors, light fittings, junction boxes and field instruments and provided to the client as a report on the state of their equipment. Based on our findings, Gordon McKay can repair or replace any non-compliant or faulty equipment and update hazardous area dossiers.
Hazardous area dossiers
In compliance with AS/NZS 60079 series, a hazardous area dossier is required to be kept on site and up to date for all hazardous area zones. Gordon McKay helps clients create, maintain and update hazardous area dossiers – including providing inspections, reports, updating information, certificates and drawings.
Hazardous area instrumentation and maintenance
Our industrial electricians are experienced in all aspects of hazardous area installations, ranging from inspections and reports to replacing, repairing, calibrating instruments and cable repairs, wiring lights, motors, junction boxes and instruments.
As well as detail, visual and close inspections, Gordon McKay specialises in fault finding on instruments and electrical equipment, breakdowns and power and lighting for hazardous area facilities.