Case Study – Jackie Marsh
Jackie Marsh is a senior technical specifications engineer in the UK & Europe sales team at Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd, which manufactures gas detection instruments for oxygen, flammable and toxic gas hazards. Jackie spoke to us about how she recently completed the CompEx Application Design Engineer (Ex12) qualification, our course designed for engineers who specify electrical equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres.
Jackie explained why she wanted to undertake the Design Engineer qualification: “A large part of my role involves helping our customers to select the correct gas detection equipment for their application, especially fixed gas detection systems. This involves working with clients to understand their requirements and turning them into a workable solution.
“I’m lucky to spend a lot of time at customer sites, which is really interesting as we work across so many sectors and industries.”
Ex12 is a five-day course, with several points of assessment throughout, that delivers 25 hours of guided learning. It is one of the many CompEx courses that delivers certifiable competency training for those working in hazardous areas. We asked Jackie for her perspective of what a CompEx qualification means.
“I think it’s invaluable – it’s the internationally recognised way of demonstrating competence, which is trusted, and is in many cases insisted upon by organisations. The consistency in training, and assessment undertaken, means to me that a CompEx qualified person can always be depended on.”
Jackie has experience as an apprentice electronics technician in a factory manufacturing scientific instruments, working in quality control at a company building military communications hardware, and in telecommunications. After spending eight years working at Crowcon, Jackie is also now well versed in hazardous area safety practices. She tells us:
“Gases can pose toxic, asphyxiation, and fire/explosion risks, and, perhaps due to the large number of gases with different properties, people can be daunted by gas detection, but there is actually a wealth of guidance material available, for example from the HSE, and manufacturers such as ourselves.”
Crowcon sponsored Jackie, recognising the importance and value of the qualification. Now having successfully completed the qualification, Jackie shared some of the key takeaways she had from the experience:
“The course really helped me to understand the regulations from our customers’ perspectives, and bolstered my knowledge of required installation practices, which has given me more confidence in dealing with our customers and installers.
“I now have the background knowledge to understand the reasons behind the Zone classifications (the categorisation for an area’s potential for explosive atmospheres), control measures, and working practices; and this helps tremendously when I need to discuss my work with customers.”
To find out more about our Ex12 and the other qualifications we offer at CompEx, visit: https://compexcertification.com/qualifications/