The Requirements
Our Oil and Gas industry customer required 3 ATEX rated electric chain hoists for their offshore working environment to safely lift and handle equipment, tools and machinery.
Lifting equipment supplied for any Oil and Gas application must be ATEX rated for use in either Zone 1 or 2 as defined by the exact working environment and the associated risks involved. Our customer specifically required an ATEX Zone 1 rated sparkproof electric chain hoist that was safe to use in a hazardous gas, vapour and mist environment that could be configured with existing steel work on the oil rig where it would be installed.
The Solution
The customer specified the need for a quality product that could operate in a harsh working environment and still operate at the highest level with long periods between usage. We supplied our customer with 3 VL20 sparkproof electric chain hoists that are rated for safe operation in an ATEX zone 1 – hazardous gas, vapour and mist environment. To further protect the chain hoists and provide enhanced safety the VL electric chain hoists had a specialised epoxy paint finish complete with a 5 year guarantee.
So that the electric chain hoists were compatible with the customers’ existing steel work we designed and manufactured a bespoke dead hang bracket that meant the chain hoists, supplied with a standard eye suspension, could be configured with the bracket to safely mount to the steel beam in a fixed mount position. Each VL20 electric chain hoist had a safe working load of 1,000kg and could achieve a maximum 3 meter height of lift which ensured it could safely accommodate the range of lifts our customer required as part of their offshore operation.
Hoist UK
“This was an exciting project for us. We’re recognised as cleanroom lifting equipment specialists and are often brought into the later stages of a cleanroom design and build project however, working with Oxford Space Systems we were given the opportunity to be involved in the earlier stages of the project too. In addition to designing and manufacturing the cleanroom overhead crane system, we were also asked to construct the room by designing and constructing the free-standing structure that would form the cleanroom.
Mat Rowe and his team are complete professionals, as are the project teams at Clean Room Construction and Total Projects UK, and we maintained a close working relationship throughout each stage of the job which made for the smooth completion of this project.”
ATEX Explained
ATEX is the name commonly given to the two European directives for controlling explosive atmospheres. ATEX lifting equipment can mean electric chain hoists, wire rope hoists and belt hoists, winches, trolleys and pneumatic lifting equipment, and can be referred to as spark proof or Ex equipment.
1) Directive 99/92/EC (also known as 'ATEX 137' or the 'ATEX Workplace Directive') on minimum requirements for improving the health and safety protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres.
2) Directive 94/9/EC (also known as 'ATEX 95' or 'the ATEX Equipment Directive') on the approximation of the laws of Members States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.
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