Explosion Proof (EX) Rating Assurance - Compliancy Adherence Inspections

• Safety – Operating in a hazardous environment necessitates the use of explosion-proof (EX) vehicles to ensure safety by preventing ignition sources. Regular maintenance of these vehicles is essential to uphold their performance and safety standards. While specific maintenance schedules for EX-rated vehicles may vary, adhering to manufacturer guidelines and conducting routine inspections are crucial. Regular maintenance not only ensures safety but also extends the lifespan of the equipment, contributing to the overall efficiency of your operations.
• Compliance – Failure to maintain your vehicles’ EX–rating could leave you subject to audits and fines by OSHA. OSHA requires product owners maintaining the factory rating of their equipment to ensure the safety of their work environment and employees. The EX-rating your vehicle has been designed with is contingent on properly maintaining the standards and requirements that were needed to obtain the EX-rating originally.
• Performance – Taking the time to perform an in-depth review of your explosion proof vehicle will help ensure all parts and systems are maintaining the performance standards and requirements needed to keep you safe and your operations excelling.

• Every 2 Years – Your vehicle should be inspected every 2 years to ensure that that it’s systems and components designed to support safe operations in your hazardous environment are remaining intact and the quality needed to continue to support safe operation.

• Incidents Involving Major Damages / Repairs – If your vehicle has been involved in a scenario where it has required major repairs you should have your vehicle inspected to ensure that no other systems have been damaged or compromised. Some examples are (but not limited to) damage of spark protection on exterior of vehicle, damage to enclosures or attached conduits that could compromise joint surface or threaded flame paths, damage that impacts vehicle stability or capacity.

We know your operations need the vehicle to be in service to sustain your workflows, it becomes very easy to shift your focus on repairing what is broken and getting your vehicle back into production. During these situations the most important thing your vehicle needs is to is to be inspected and ensure that it still maintains full capabilities and performance for safe operation in your hazardous environment.

• Reoccurring & Consistent Failures – If your vehicle is seeing consistent failures of the same component or reoccurring failures in the same system it’s highly unlikely it’s just a coincidence. More likely, there is an undiscovered cause that is forcing the impacted components or system to work beyond their maximum performance. In a machine as complex as your explosion proof vehicle, all components and systems must work together correctly to achieve the expected performance and operation you rely on to maintain your operations and keep personnel safe.
• Degrading Performance – If you have seen a noticeable change to your explosion proof vehicles performance lately don’t ignore it, how your vehicle responds to your operation demands is a direct reflection of the capabilities of its components. If your vehicle has been able to meet the demands of your operation in the past but struggles to do so now, there is likely something that needs the attention for repairs or replacement.

• 0 Years – 9 Years – Explosion proof vehicles meeting these criteria are eligible for inspection and repairs to maintain EX-rating. Further evaluations outside our normal compliancy assurance inspections are typically not needed to ensure the vehicle can be repaired or maintained in adherence of the EX-rating but may still be required under certain circumstances.
• 10 Years – 14 Years – Explosion proof vehicles meeting these criteria will be subject to further evaluations to ensure that the vehicle can be repaired or maintained to the adherence of the EX-rating prior to executing compliancy assurance inspection. Some vehicles in this age range may not be subject to inspection or repairs based on changes to componentry, design, and today’s standards.
• 15 Years or More – Explosion proof vehicles meeting these criteria are not eligible for a compliance assurance inspection or repairs to maintain EX-rating. While it is certainly possible that your vehicle could be compliant with the design and build of its original EX rating, it’s also very likely that today’s componentry and standards have changed. This will typically drive up your investment to a range where it becomes practical to consider a new vehicle all together, our team recommends obtaining a new explosion proof vehicle that conforms to today’s standards and componentry. This will ensure we can provide continued support for you in the future.

• 92-Point RICO Factory Inspection - This inspection is recommended for explosion proof vehicles that have seen consistent or higher usage during its service life or if your vehicle has been involved in scenarios where it has had recurring repairs and/or major repairs. This inspection is performed by RICO factory technicians and the certified welders to who build our vehicles. This inspection offers the most detailed and robust testing of your vehicle to ensure all problem areas and performance issues are addressed. More details about our 92-point factory inspection are provided below:
  • Spark Protection – The spark resistant materials around the vehicle’s perimeter will be inspected to identify they are maintaining quality necessary to reduce potential for frictional sparks when your vehicle comes into contact with other objects in your hazardous environment.
  • Enclosures – Enclosures as well as applicable flame paths of enclosure will be reviewed by performing a complete disassembly of your enclosure to verify all applicable threaded and mating joint surface flame paths are uncompromised.
  • Conduits / Enclosed Cables – All conduits and enclosed cables will be inspected to ensure that there are no compromised threaded flame paths as well as verifying there remains no exposure of the high potential wiring to the outside atmosphere.
  • Intrinsically Safe Wiring / Components – The intrinsically safe wiring and components on your vehicle are low potential signals used to control high potential wiring and components. We will perform a thorough review of this system and its components to ensure quality and reliable operation.
  • Static Conductive Components – Static conductive components such as your vehicles load wheels or casters will be tested to ensure they’re still maintaining proper continuity to discharge any static build up to ground.
  • Structural – The chassis itself will be reviewed for any potential signs of structural or weld failures. These types of failures are not only detrimental to the trucks’ performance but are also detrimental to safe operation of the vehicle.
  • Speed / Capacity - A performance evaluation will be conducted to identify that your vehicle is still meeting the performance benchmarks related to the speed and capacity your vehicle was originally built with.
  • Complementary Systems – During this time our team will also perform thorough reviews of the hydraulic and mechanical systems on your vehicle. This ensures that no stone is left untuned when identifying what is needed to bring your vehicle back to top performance and maintain compliance with its EX-rating.
• Pricing: $2,000.00 for 1^st $1,000.00 per additional vehicle.
• Lead Time: 3-4 Weeks
• Additional Notes:
  • All inspections must be scheduled and RMA authorization obtained prior to returning your vehicle to RICO. Non-authorized returns will be routed back to the origin of shipment.
  • Customers are responsible for freight transporting vehicles to and from RICO’s facility. If you would like RICO to arrange freight for you, , please let your RICO representative know.
  • Lead times are subject to change based on variables such as labor constraints and capacity, personnel or item availability, unexpected damages to vehicle, etc.
  • Upon completion of the inspection a quotation will be if details the necessary repairs needed bring the truck back to compliance with its EX-rating. Once this quotation has been delivered customers will have (10) business days to identify whether they would like to move forward with the repairs. If more time is needed to decide regarding repairs, RICO will arrange for your vehicle to be shipped back to you and then can be sent back to our factory later if you decide to proceed with repairs.
  • Upon completion of the repairs needed to remain compliant with the vehicle’s EX-rating, RICO will replace all data tags and safety decals in accordance with the latest Z535 compliance.
  • Vehicles repaired through this program will receive an updated certificate of compliance that confirms the vehicle conforms to standards and requirements needed to maintain compliance with EX-rating.

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• 52-Point On-Site Inspection - This inspection is recommended for explosion proof vehicles that have had lower usage and experienced minor repairs. This inspection is a great solution for customers who cannot afford to have their vehicle removed from production for long periods of time. This inspection can be performed by RICO factory technicians or RICO factory trained dealer technicians. Although this inspection is not as in-depth as our 92-point factory inspection, it still provides the most detailed testing methods of your vehicle that can be performed outside of our factory. More details about our 52-point on-site inspection are provided below:
  • Spark Protection – The spark resistant materials around the vehicle’s perimeter will receive a complete inspection. This will be like our 92-point inspection as these protections are along the outside perimeters of the truck as easily assessed.
  • Enclosures – Enclosures will be assessed to determine if there is any apparent damage to the mating joint surfaces or fasteners that that hold on the enclosure lid. Inspections will also be made to components that transmit work to the outside of the enclosure (shafts, extension couplings, bearings, bushings, etc.) to ensure flame path integrity as well. This inspection will not completely disassemble all threaded couplings to the enclosure such as those that carry in high potential wiring through conduits and other insulated cables. If you feel there could be a compromised coupling or threaded flame path you should consider scheduling a 92-point inspection.
  • Intrinsically Safe Wiring / Components – The intrinsically safe wiring and components on your truck are still easily reviewed and assessed during our 52-point on-site inspection. A complete inspection will be performed of related wiring and components
  • Static Conductive Components – Static conductive components will be inspected to ensure appropriate continuity to ground is being maintained. Further mechanical and operational checks of these components will not be possible unless failure is apparent.
  • Speed / Capacity – Performance evaluations can still be conducted as part of this inspection. This will be contingent upon the capabilities of customers to provide operators and proper equipment to run tests. For this test to be conducted the truck and its protections (enclosures, covers, bumpers, etc.) must be completely intact and fastened to correct specifications laid out in manual.
  • Complementary Systems – Inspections of complementary systems can still be performed; these inspections may be more limited than the 92-point inspection based on on-site capabilities and our ability to manipulate the vehicle.
• Pricing: $1,500.00 for 1^st $750.00 per additional vehicle. (See additional notes)
• Lead Time: 2-3 weeks
• Additional Notes:
  • The listed pricing for 52-point onsite inspection does not include travel expenses. If travel is required, pricing will be added to the official quotation for your consideration and approval prior to processing, scheduling, or executing inspection.
  • All vehicles must be moved outside of a hazardous location for the inspection to be executed. For safety purposes, RICO factory technicians or RICO Factory trained dealer technicians will not perform inspections inside of rated hazardous areas.
  • RICO factory trained inspectors will evaluate needed repairs and determine if they can be made in the field or if the vehicle will need to return to RICO for repairs. No repairs will be made at time of inspection.
  • Upon completion of the inspection, a quotation will be provided that details the necessary repairs needed bring the truck back to compliance with its EX-rating.
  • If your vehicle must return to RICO for repairs. All repairs must be scheduled and RMA authorization obtained prior to returning your vehicle to RICO. Non-authorized returns will be routed back to the origin of shipment.
  • Customers who are returning vehicles to RICO for repairs are responsible for freight transporting vehicles to and from RICO’s facility. If you would like RICO to arrange freight for you, please let your RICO representative know.
  • Lead times are subject to change based on variables such as labor constraints and capacity, personnel or item availability, unexpected damages to vehicle, etc.
  • Upon completion of the repairs needed to remain compliant with the vehicles EX-rating, RICO will replace all data tags and safety decals in accordance with latest Z535 compliance.
  • Vehicles repaired through this program will receive an updated certificate of compliance that confirms the vehicle conforms to standards and requirements needed to maintain compliance with EX-rating.

• Offered Trainings:
  • Virtual – RICO will host a live webinar with you or your team and will review the “What Makes it EX?” presentation in further detail. During our virtual trainings instructors will use 3D models and other appropriate references to help relay EX-related principles and checks as well as other technical principles and checks.

Expected Duration: 1-2 Hours

Cost: Free

• • In-House – RICO can host a training session for up to 8 people at our facility in Medina, Ohio. This training would be split into two half-day sessions with both taking place on the same day.

The first session is a classroom training that will cover our “What Makes it EX?” presentation as well as an in-depth review of your vehicles systems and features. The classroom session is designed to have you walk away with detailed knowledge of your vehicles systems and how they operate from a theoretical perspective so you can apply that knowledge during the second session.

The second session will be in our factory with an explosion proof truck.  This allows our trainers to break down the vehicle and take the theoretical knowledge you learned in the classroom session and see it applied in real life and real time application. This session allows anyone who will be working with our explosion proof trucks a safe and controlled place to train.

Expected Duration: 6-7 Hours

Cost: Free

• • On-Site – This training allows your team to train at your own facility directly with the explosion proof vehicle they will be working with and servicing. A RICO factory technician will travel to your location to provide training. This training, like RICO’s offered in-house training, would be split into two sessions with both being held on the same day.

The first session is a classroom training that will cover our “What Makes it EX?” presentation as well as an in-depth review of your vehicles systems and features. The classroom session is designed to have you walk away with detailed knowledge of your vehicles systems and how they operate from a theoretical perspective so you can apply that knowledge during the second session.

The second session will be in our factory with an explosion proof truck.  This allows our trainers to break down the vehicle and take the theoretical knowledge you learned in the classroom session and see it applied in real life and real time application. This session allows anyone who will be working with our explosion proof trucks a safe and controlled place to train.

Expected Duration: 6-7 Hours

Cost: $1,200.00 (plus travel and service fees)

To schedule a training, or for further inquiries please contact our customer service team at:

Phone: 330-723-4050 – Option 2

Email: customerservice@ricoequipment.com