The ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU, in its Chapter 2, gives us an unexpected mirror for self-knowledge. It defines four economic operator roles:

• Manufacturer
• Authorised Representative
• Importer
• Distributor

On paper, these look clean and well separated. In real life, they overlap, interface, and does the opposite.

Why Self-Knowledge Matters in Explosion Protection? The ATEX Roles

Manufacturer – Do You deliver the solution?

ATEX defines a manufacturer as the one who designs or manufactures equipment and places it on the market under their name.

Self-knowledge test:

• Do you specify equipment configuration?
• Do you select protection concepts (Ex d, Ex e, Ex i, etc.)?
• Do you define intended use, limits, or conditions?

If yes, you do deliver the solution — even if you never touch the factory floor. Many "non-manufacturers" behave like manufacturers without realising it.

Authorised Representative – Do You know whom and what you represent?

An authorised representative acts on behalf of a manufacturer.

Self-knowledge test:

• Do you explain Ex markings to customers?
• Do you provide certificates, declarations, or compliance statements?
• Do others rely on your interpretation?

If yes, you are not just a messenger. You are a translator of safety in general. Misinterpretation here does not cause paperwork errors, it causes field-level ignition scenarios.

Importer – Do You give access to information, are you transparent?

Importers ensure that equipment entering a market complies with ATEX.

Self-knowledge test:

• Do you bring equipment from outside the EU?
• Do you check documentation — or just forward it?
• Do you assume "certified" means "safe everywhere"?

Importers often sit at the weakest safety bridge: between different regulatory cultures, assumptions, and enforcement levels. Explosion protection often collapses at borders.

Distributor – Do You only sell the product or support its selection as well?

Distributors place equipment on the market without modifying it.

Self-knowledge test:

• Do you select which product goes to which customer?
• Do you match equipment to zones or EPLs?
• Do you advise alternatives based on availability or price?

Selection is a design act—even if ATEX does not call it that. Choosing the wrong compliant product is still choosing an ignition source.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Most professionals in hazardous industries are more than one role at the same time.

• Engineers who specify → act as manufacturers
• Purchasing teams who decide → act as designers
• Integrators who adapt → act as modifiers
• Inspectors who approve assumptions → act as risk owners

ATEX roles are legal categories. Explosion protection failures often happen in human grey zones.

A Short Self-Knowledge Test

Ask yourself honestly:

1. If an explosion happened tomorrow, where would the investigation point first?
2. Whose assumptions are embedded in the installation?
3. Who decided that this was "good enough"?
4. If documentation vanished, who could still explain the safety concept?

Your answers define your real role — not your contract.

Why This Matters More Than Ever?

Modern hazardous installations are:

• modified repeatedly
• upgraded digitally
• maintained by rotating contractors
• operated far beyond original design life

In such systems, self-knowledge becomes a safety barrier. Explosion protection is not only about:

• zones
• certificates
• inspections

It is about knowing when and how you are part of the Ex protection concept — whether you admit it or not.

Final Thought

ATEX Directive tells us what roles exist. Explosion protection demands that we ask: Which one am I — right now?

And perhaps more importantly: Am I acting like one without taking responsibility for it? That question alone has prevented more explosions than many checklists ever will.

Keep up the good work!

Arpad
veress@exprofessional.com