The international Ex community (Ex equipment manufacturers, end users and regulators) have worked hard at providing standardization of technical requirements for Ex equipment and systems now reflected in a mature set of standards; work on standardizing the approaches to testing and certification is relatively young. The benefits of publishing international equipment standards can be overshadowed by the application of different testing and certification practices and systems. This can result in costly re-testing and re-certification as well as lost time-to-market for manufacturers and down time for plant operators.

While Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and Equipment and Protective Systems intended for use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX) Directive have been seen as a solution to a converging common approach, the question remains: "What about companies and organizations that operate globally?"

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