A Closer Look at CompEx and IECEx Certification

A few weeks ago I asked on my personal LinkedIn page a question “Would you consider IECEx Certificate of Personal Competency Training ?”, and of the 187 respondents, 43% were for a yes, and 34% wanted to know what the difference is. So, in this blog, I intend to reveal the ancient mysteries behind CompEx and IECEx.

Both schemes follow the same set of standards. IEC 60079 series, and in the main, IEC 60079 parts 14 (selection, erection, and initial inspection), and part 17 (maintenance and inspection). Nothing too different there, however, CompEx stresses the European certification scheme ‘ATEX’ and European conformity standard ‘CE’, where the IECEx scheme takes a more uniform, international stance.

We should remember that IEC 60079 and EN 60079 are identical, except for some additional annexes. The body of the standards are the same.

The main differences are in the way the course modules are laid out. I am sure many people have been frustrated that they failed one section of their CompEx and had to re-sit that section and gain a pass before their CompEx competency was validated and the certificate issued.

This can be a particular problem with Inspectors, who are not involved in the installation, and installation technicians, who are experts at glanding and terminating, but the wheels fall off when they are tasked to do an inspection, as part of their competency test.

CompEx has Ex01, 02, 03, and 04, which are Electrical Installation, then Inspection, and Instrument Installation and Inspection, but IECEx has EX001, 003, 004, 006, 007, 008 (actually there is a 002, 005, 009 and 010, but let’s deal with the basics first).

Whoa, too many numbers! The IECEx scheme allows you to pick and choose what you need to be certified to, and should you take the full 1,3,4,6,7,8, and fail a module, you can either re-sit the module you failed, or choose to be certified to the other modules you passed, and leave it at that.

EX001 is defined as “competence to apply the basic principles of protection requirements for an electrical worker/engineer/technician” and is a pre-requisite for all the other modules in the scheme.

The training section can be carried out online, but I would recommend face-to-face. It takes me 2 and a half days to impart the knowledge required for Ex001. A few of the differences from CompEx are that IECEx EX001 covers flammable/explosive dust installations, which is additional in CompEx and covered under the Ex05-06 course.

It also goes more in-depth into maintenance and the IECEx repair facilities scheme covered under 60079-19. The competency test for this module comprises two exam papers. One multiple choice question (MCQ) exam (taken online), and a short written answers exam, taken on paper at the current time of writing. The pass mark is 75% for those who like to know the metrics. Oh, and IECEx allows for open-book exams!

That covers Monday through Wednesday, and the competency testing begins afresh with your assessor on Thursday morning, where you will have some time for glanding practice, and then follow on with an Electrical and Instrument installation practical assessment which we will cover in my next blog post. Make sure to subscribe to EUTEX blog so you get notified when a new blog has been published. 

Another final little reminder here. Neither CompEx nor IECEx is a training course. They have some instruction, but they are a competency validation scheme for Electrical Crafts persons, Technicians, or Engineers, who already hold valid Industrial Electrical qualifications and are experienced in a relevant industry (for IECEx they require at least 3 years).

Below is a table for a side-to-side comparison of both. 

EUTEX offers both IECEx and CompEx training. Click here to view our training catalog and refer to this link for upcoming training dates at our different training centers. 

Do you have any training questions?