DSEAR and ATEX guide

DSEAR and ATEX filling equipment: responsibilities, zones and project boundaries.

Clarify the workplace assessment, hazardous-area classification, equipment specification, earthing, extraction and handover information needed for a controlled filling-machinery project.

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Automatic filling machinery configured for hazardous-area project review

Scope and safety boundary

This guide supports commercial and engineering scoping. It is not a substitute for a competent DSEAR risk assessment, hazardous-area classification, installation design, conformity assessment or legal advice. The site operator and responsible equipment manufacturer retain their respective duties.

DSEAR and ATEX solve different parts of the same project

In Great Britain, DSEAR places duties on employers and the self-employed to assess and control workplace risks from dangerous substances. The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2016 address equipment and protective systems placed on the market for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.

For a filling project, the workplace assessment establishes the dangerous substances, activities, credible releases, hazardous-area classification and control measures. The machinery specification uses those inputs to define intended use, equipment protection, ignition-source controls, materials, interfaces, documentation and installation requirements.

A supplier can provide equipment information and participate in interface reviews, but should not guess the site zone from a product name or assume responsibility for facility ventilation without an agreed scope.

Responsibility matrix

Decide who owns every input before the quotation is approved.

Decision	Information required	Typical project owner
Dangerous-substance assessment	Substances, quantities, activities, releases, consequences and control measures.	Employer/site operator with competent support.
Hazardous-area classification	Zone, boundaries, gas or dust group, temperature requirements and ventilation assumptions.	Competent assessor appointed by the site/project.
Machinery intended use	Products, packs, doses, output, operating modes, cleaning and foreseeable misuse.	Purchaser and Lancing.
Equipment protection and conformity	Declared classification, ignition-risk assessment, components, documentation and applicable assessment.	Responsible manufacturer/economic operator for the supplied scope.
Facility extraction and services	Airflow or containment performance, power, air, drainage, fire controls and installation.	Named facility or project designer.
Commissioning and operation	Inspection, SAT, procedures, training, maintenance and change control.	Site operator with supplier/contractor scope agreed.

Zone context

Use the competent area classification—not a generic distance from the nozzle.

HSE guidance describes gas, vapour and mist zones by the frequency and duration of an explosive atmosphere. The classification should identify release sources and boundaries for the real room, process, ventilation and operating method.

Zone	Practical definition	Filling-project questions
Zone 0	Explosive atmosphere present continuously or for long periods.	Is this inside product equipment, at the point of fill or elsewhere? What protection concept and process containment are required?
Zone 1	Explosive atmosphere likely to occur occasionally in normal operation.	Which normal releases create it, what are the boundaries, and what equipment or operators enter the area?
Zone 2	Explosive atmosphere not likely in normal operation and, if it occurs, present only briefly.	Which abnormal release is considered, what limits its duration and what equipment remains within the boundary?

The zone alone is not a complete equipment specification. Provide the gas or vapour group, temperature requirements, zone boundaries, ventilation assumptions and intended equipment location. The classification may distinguish the inside of a process vessel, the immediate filling point and the wider room.

Ignition and release control

Review the complete process through production, cleaning and maintenance.

Ignition sources

Electrical equipment, hot surfaces, electrostatic discharge, friction, impact, bearings, mechanical sparks, heating and temporary maintenance equipment all require consideration where relevant.

Release sources

Product supply connections, pump seals, hoses, nozzles, open containers, drips, rejects, sampling, drainage and cleaning can each create different release conditions.

Control measures

Elimination or substitution, closed transfer, containment, ventilation, extraction, earthing and bonding, protected equipment, detection, interlocks and operating procedures may form a combined strategy.

Earthing, bonding and extraction

Specify interfaces with measurable responsibilities.

Earthing and bonding

Identify conductive equipment, pipework, drums, transfer hoses and other items that require a controlled path. State how continuity is verified, whether a monitored clamp or permissive is included and what the machine does if the required condition is absent.

Insulating plastic containers cannot be treated as though a clamp automatically makes them conductive. The static-control solution needs to address the product, fill method, container, operator and surroundings as a system.

Extraction and ventilation

Record who designs the extraction, the required capture or airflow criterion, the operating modes covered, the commissioning method and the maintenance responsibility. If machine operation depends on extraction, define the signal, failure response and restart logic.

Do not use a room ventilation assumption to avoid reviewing the release at the nozzle. Equally, do not treat a local hood as a complete DSEAR solution without considering product supply, cleaning and downstream open-container travel.

Information for Lancing

Provide a controlled project pack rather than isolated emails.

Current SDS and formulation or concentration information where relevant.
Product temperature, viscosity, density, conductivity, foam, particles and cleaning method.
Area-classification drawing, zone, gas or dust group, temperature requirements and assumptions.
Container and closure drawings or samples, dose range and sustained output.
Product-supply arrangement, utilities, extraction and drainage interfaces.
Filling, capping, labelling, coding, inspection and conveyor scope.
Required documentation, FAT, SAT, training, maintenance and future change control.

Open the machine specification checklist Plan trials and FAT

Official UK sources

Guide FAQs

Questions to close before the project specification is approved.

What is the difference between DSEAR and ATEX equipment requirements?

DSEAR concerns the employer’s workplace assessment and control of risks from dangerous substances. The 2016 equipment regulations concern products intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. A filling project needs the site classification and controls to align with the supplied equipment’s intended use and documentation.

Who defines the hazardous-area zone for a filling line?

The site or project should appoint a competent person to complete the area classification. Lancing can use the resulting zone, boundaries, gas or dust group, temperature requirements and assumptions to develop the machine specification, but should not infer them from the product name.

Does Zone 2 always mean a standard filling machine is acceptable?

No. Zone 2 is still a classified area. The intended use, explosive-atmosphere type, equipment location, ignition sources and applicable equipment protection must be assessed against the competent classification.

Does a certified motor make the complete machine ATEX suitable?

No. The assembled machine includes electrical and non-electrical ignition risks, moving parts, controls, product transfer, static, hot surfaces and interfaces. Individual certified components support but do not replace the complete equipment assessment.

Who is responsible for extraction around the filler?

The project must name the responsible designer and installer. Extraction may be a facility system, a machine interface or a combined supply. Performance, commissioning, maintenance and any machine interlock should be defined in writing.

Can the project proceed while the DSEAR assessment is incomplete?

Preliminary selection can proceed with clear assumptions and open actions. The final machinery protection, marking, documentation and installation scope cannot be responsibly closed until the required competent classification information is available.

Your machine recommendation

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Send your product SDS, container details, fill range, target output and any ATEX information. You’ll receive a practical shortlist matched to your application.

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Direct support for new machines, line upgrades and complete filling projects.

Auditable selection trail

Link the workplace assessment, area classification and equipment specification through controlled evidence.

A zone label is an important input, but it is not a complete filling-machine specification. The project record should show how the intended use, release sources, explosive-atmosphere characteristics, equipment locations, ignition risks and control measures were translated into the approved machinery and installation scope.

Controlled record	Minimum project purpose	Typical owner or approver to name
DSEAR risk assessment	Identifies dangerous substances, work activities, credible events and the measures used to eliminate or control fire and explosion risk.	Employer or duty holder with competent support.
Hazardous-area classification	Defines zone type, extent, explosive-atmosphere basis and assumptions around releases and ventilation.	Competent area-classification author and site approver.
Equipment intended-use statement	Defines products, containers, operating modes, environment, limits, utilities, cleaning and foreseeable use covered by the machinery project.	Machinery supplier and purchaser through the approved specification.
Ignition-risk and conformity records	Shows how electrical and non-electrical ignition hazards and applicable equipment requirements are addressed for the supplied assembly.	Responsible equipment manufacturer and relevant conformity parties.
Interface register	Assigns extraction, earthing, product feed, fire systems, room services, guarding, signals and installation checks.	Named supplier, site engineer and acceptance owner for each interface.
FAT, SAT and handover records	Records what was tested, the conditions, results, deviations, open actions and installation-dependent verification.	Witnesses, project owner and responsible site acceptance personnel.

Control assumptions by revision

Area classification, ventilation, product formulation and line layout can change while a machine is being specified. Each commercial and technical approval should identify the document revisions on which it relies. A later drawing or product change should trigger a recorded review rather than silently becoming part of the intended use.

Where information is provisional, list the assumption, responsible owner, due date and effect on design if it changes. This allows preliminary work to continue without presenting unresolved inputs as confirmed facts.

Include cleaning, maintenance and fault recovery

The operating case should extend beyond steady production. Draining, flushing, clearing a blocked container, replacing a hose, opening a guard and restarting after loss of extraction can alter release and ignition conditions. Those modes need appropriate isolation, access and procedures.

The new earthing, bonding and static-control guide explains how to define the conductive path and monitoring interfaces without assuming that one clamp controls every container or product.

Management of change protects the approved operating envelope.

Review changes to product formulation, concentration, temperature, container material, throughput, cleaning medium, product feed, ventilation, software, line layout and downstream machinery before use. The review should decide whether the workplace assessment, area classification, equipment documentation, trial evidence, instructions or training also need revision.

Current official references include the HSE DSEAR overview, HSE guidance on ATEX equipment and explosive atmospheres and the GOV.UK guidance on the 2016 equipment regulations for Great Britain. Project-specific interpretation should be undertaken by the appropriate competent parties.

DSEAR project questions

Questions that keep workplace duties and machinery evidence connected.

DSEAR and equipment conformity evidence must meet at a controlled project boundary. These questions help expose assumptions before they become installation changes.

Does a machine declaration replace the employer’s DSEAR risk assessment?

No. A machine declaration and technical documentation address the equipment and the conditions for which it is supplied; they do not replace the employer’s assessment of dangerous substances and work activities at the site. The workplace assessment considers storage, transfer, filling, cleaning, people, ventilation, ignition sources, abnormal events and emergency arrangements.

The two evidence sets must be consistent. If the site assumptions differ from the machine’s intended use, the discrepancy needs competent review rather than being resolved by the presence of a marking or certificate.

What happens if the hazardous-area classification changes after the machine is ordered?

A changed classification should trigger a formal impact review before the equipment is installed or used under the new conditions. The review may affect equipment location, protection concept, components, wiring, controls, extraction, documentation, inspection and the interfaces with retained machinery.

Record the original basis, the revised drawing and the reason for change. The machinery supplier, competent area-classification specialist and site duty holder should agree whether the supplied scope remains suitable or needs modification.

How should sampling, draining and maintenance be included in the assessment?

Sampling, draining, fault recovery, cleaning and maintenance should be treated as real operating modes because they can open the product path, change ventilation, introduce tools or place people closer to a release. A risk assessment limited to automatic production may miss the conditions under which hoses are disconnected, residues are exposed or safeguards are bypassed for authorised work.

Describe the task, isolation, retained energy, product quantity, access, tools, temporary equipment, waste route and restart checks. The approved procedure should align with the machine instructions and site permit system.

Who should approve machine and building-service interface assumptions?

Each assumption should be approved by the party competent and responsible for that part of the project, with one person or organisation named as the interface owner. The machine supplier may define the required extraction signal or utility quality; the site and its specialists normally confirm the installed system, area classification and workplace controls.

Use an interface register with requirement, owner, design evidence, due date and acceptance test. This prevents “by others” from becoming an unverified dependency at commissioning.

Use official definitions, then apply them to the real filling process.

See the focused guides on whether an ATEX filling review is needed and Zone 1 versus Zone 2 equipment selection. Final decisions remain subject to the competent, site-specific assessment.

Evidence handover

Join the workplace classification to the equipment marking and instructions.

DSEAR and equipment conformity address connected but different responsibilities. The project becomes auditable when the workplace assumptions are translated into a written machine duty, and the supplied equipment evidence is checked back against the same assumptions at design review, FAT and SAT.

What information moves from the duty holder to the machine supplier?

Provide the approved zone and extent, substance or gas information, temperature requirements, release and ventilation assumptions, operating modes, product and cleaning data, and the location of external utilities and controls. Identify any item still provisional so it cannot silently become a design fact.

What evidence should return with the machine?

The supplied evidence should identify the intended duty and limits, instructions, marking, product-contact materials, interfaces, controls, maintenance requirements and acceptance records appropriate to the contracted scope. Site items and unresolved SAT actions should remain visible.

Use the marking and documentation guide

Do not let a late drawing change bypass the review.

Changes to the product, temperature, zone extent, ventilation, container, line layout or cleaning method can invalidate assumptions used for machine selection. Apply the maintenance and change-control principles before accepting the revised operating case.

Responsibility and classification

Make the DSEAR output usable by the machinery supplier.

The dedicated answer on the difference between ATEX and DSEAR gives a concise responsibility map. The gas-group and temperature-class guide then shows which classification inputs are needed beyond the Zone, while the Great Britain marking guide separates product-market evidence from workplace duties.

Highest gas-hazard Zone

Zone 0 requires a separate equipment-selection question.

Use the direct guide to whether an ATEX filling machine can be used in Zone 0 to distinguish internal product atmosphere, external area classification, equipment protection level and release-reduction measures.

Equipment protection concepts

Do not treat “intrinsically safe”, “flameproof” and “explosion proof” as interchangeable machine descriptions.

The protection concept applies to defined equipment and conditions. The complete filler can combine low-energy instrumentation, protected enclosures, pneumatic devices and non-electrical machinery while still requiring a coherent ignition-source and installation review.

Compare the protection methods before reviewing quotations.

Read the intrinsic-safety versus flameproof filling-equipment guide →