TC 31 (Equipment for explosive atmospheres) standard IEC 60079-18 Edition 3 Explosive atmospheres – Part 18: Equipment protection by encapsulation “m” has just been published and features in the latest issue of IEC E-TECH (http://www.iec.ch/online_news/etech/arch_2009/etech_0509/store_1.htm?mlref=etech). This is because this edition of the standard has been selected to be one of the first published in a new IEC Standards+ Redline version. This provides users of the standard with clearer information on what has changed since the last edition of the standard. This approach is likely to be of particular use to equipment designers and manufacturers who will have a clearer understanding of whether existing equipment is likely to comply with the latest edition. It will also be very helpful to certification and testing bodies to understand what changes need to be made to assessment procedures and testing facilities.
It is good to see IEC take this initiative, as TC 31 has for some time been encouraging its convenors to include this approach when issuing documentation during the revision process.
Note: This is the first of what I intend to be an ongoing news on developments in TC 31, including the latest standards issued.
Jim Munro, Chairman IEC TC 31.