Industry 4.0 and explosion prevention

Abstract

Industry 4.0 creates so called “smart factory”, what involves cyber - physical systems, the Internet of things, cloud computing and cognitive computing. One of design principles in Industry 4.0 is technical assistance, understood as the ability of cyber - physical systems to support humans physically by conducting a range of tasks that are unpleasant, too exhausting or unsafe for their human co - workers. Such new approach to production will affect, among others, area of workplace safety and machine safety - also, at the field of explosion safety for works performed in areas with potentially explosive atmospheres. At present, this important issue is regulated in EU by Directive 1999/92/EC (ATEX Worker Directive), Directive 2014/34/EU (ATEX Directive), harmonized national law and technical standards. However, one of important challenges in implementation of idea of Industry 4.0 is lack of regulations, standards and forms of certification. Presented paper discusses problem if existing regulations concerning explosion safety are adequate for such new conditions, sometimes referred to as the fourth industrial revolution.