Building software for the explosion protection document and zoning file
Writing an explosion protection document is skilled work. Keeping it up to date often becomes a problem: a new installation, a different substance or a renovation, and the Word document no longer matches the drawing. Appfront builds software for the explosion protection document and the zoning file, in which substances, sources of release, zones and measures are all linked, so a change carries through everywhere and every revision can be tracked.
What is software for the explosion protection document and the zoning file?
The explosion protection document, or EPD for short, is mandatory for employers where an explosive atmosphere can occur. The obligation comes from Directive 1999/92/EC, also known as ATEX 153, and in the Netherlands it is set out in the Arbobesluit (Working Conditions Decree). The zoning file is the justification for the hazardous zones: which substance, which source of release, which grade, which ventilation, and therefore which zone and how large. Together they form a document that has to stay accurate for as long as the installation is running.
In practice, it is a Word document of dozens of pages with a separate drawing and a spreadsheet of calculations. If a tank is added, a substance changes or the ventilation is modified, someone has to find every place where that has an effect. A consultancy with many clients has this problem many times over: each client has their own version, their own substances and their own drawings, with little reuse.
We build custom software because every installation and every way of working is different. A consultancy that writes for clients has different needs from a factory that maintains its own file. The substances, the calculation methods you use, how you draw and the form the document must take all determine how the software works. The technical content stays with the expert; the software makes sure everything is linked together.
Everything linked
Substance, source, zone, measure.
Revisions
Every change traceable.
Document ready
From the same data.
How we build your software for the explosion protection document and the zoning file
We start with how you work: how you currently draw up an explosion protection document, which substances and calculation methods you use, how you draw the zones and who has to approve the document. Then we build a first version with the substance library, the sources of release and the zones, because that is where everything connects. You use it for a while on one or two real files. Drawings, measures, revision control and document output follow once that works well. After that we maintain the software as your way of working or the standards change.
Substances, methods and format.
The first version.
Drawing, measures, revision.
Go-live, monitoring, and maintenance when things change.
What software for the explosion protection document and zoning file actually does
The components below appear in almost every explosion protection document and zoning file. Which ones you need depends on your installations and your role.
Fabrics
Properties per gas or dust.
Sources
Per installation and grade.
Zones
With justification and extent.
Measures
Technical and organisational.
Revisions
What, when and why.
Document
In your own layout.
Who we build software for the explosion protection document and zoning file for
The software is for anyone who draws up or maintains explosion protection documents and gets stuck on scattered files and revisions. The more sites, installations or clients, the more it delivers.
Consultancies
Files for many clients.
Process industry
Chemicals, tank storage, energy.
Dust explosion hazard
Food, animal feed, timber.
Water companies
Treatment and biogas.
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This page is about drawing up and maintaining the explosion protection document and the zoning file. For managing explosion safety within your own company, see our page on software for explosion safety and zoning, for inspection on the shop floor our page on the ATEX app, and for the process industry our page on software for the chemical industry. You can read about our approach on building custom software.
Why Appfront for your explosion protection document and zoning file software?
A document that no longer matches the installation, a drawing two revisions old or a change made in one place but not another is not paperwork when it comes to explosion safety, but a risk. That is what we build on: everything linked together, every revision traceable, and a document that comes from the same data.
Stays accurate
A change carries through everywhere.
Traceable
Every revision with its reason.
Less duplicate work
Substances and texts are reusable.
Security and privacy for software for the explosion protection document and zoning file
An explosion protection document describes a company's installations, substances and weak points. Access is set up per role and per client: a client only sees their own files, an employee only the files they work on, and every change and approval is recorded with name and time.
The software runs in a European data centre or in your own environment, with encrypted storage and daily backups. Old revisions are retained, so you can always show which version applied at which moment.
Frequently asked questions about software for the explosion protection document and zoning file
Questions that consultancies and companies ask before they get started.
The document in which an employer records where an explosive atmosphere can occur, which zones the company is divided into, which measures follow from that and how employees are informed. The obligation comes from Directive 1999/92/EC and is set out in the Dutch Working Conditions Decree (Arbobesluit).
The zoning file is the justification for the hazardous zones: for each source of release, the substance, the grade, the ventilation and the resulting zone, with the drawing alongside. The explosion protection document builds on that zoning and adds the risk assessment, measures and information for staff.
The software can run the calculations you use under your own method and record the result against the source. The expert reviews it and determines the zone. Which calculation methods you use and what the software should do with them, we define together in the first step.
Yes. We import substances, sources, zones and measures from existing documents and spreadsheets, so you don't start from scratch. Drawings can be added as files and linked to the file by revision.
Yes, that is exactly where it is strong. You use a substance library and standard texts for all clients, while each file keeps its own installations, zones and revisions. If you wish, a client can view their own file without you having to email a new version every time.
When something changes, such as a new installation or a different substance, you create a new revision with the reason attached. The software shows which zones, measures and chapters are affected. Once approved, that revision becomes the current version; the previous one is kept.
For consultancies that draw up and maintain many explosion protection documents, and for companies with multiple sites or installations that change often. If you have a single site with a stable installation and a document that is well maintained, custom software is not necessary.
Is your explosion protection document always up to date?
Tell us how you currently draw up and maintain explosion protection documents and zoning files. We will show you how software can support that.