ANSI publishes FM Approvals standard proposal that addresses LMR-industry concerns
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) last week published an FM Approvals proposal to create a new standard designed to address the concerns of the LMR industry regarding changes to the intrinsic safety (IS) standard. ANSI is seeking comments on the proposal.
Under the new IS standard that is scheduled to become effective at the end of this year, current LMR portable radios used in North America would not meet the new standard, which aligns with an international standard that technologies such as TETRA meet. Currently, there is no equipment certified in the United States that meets new IS standard, and most industry experts believe that portables meeting the new standard would have to use significantly less output power — a scenario that effectively reduces the coverage of LMR systems, particularly in buildings (see the March cover story for more).
During a session at the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) show earlier last month in Las Vegas, FM Approvals Electrical Director Bob Martell said his organization had submitted an LMR alternative standard for portable radios being used in the most hazardous environments.
On March 25, ANSI published the FM Approvals proposal, which states the new standard would provide “requirements for the construction and testing, utilizing a double-protection method” to ensure that circuits do not cause ignition in hazardous locations.
“We’re talking about the same classification — Class 1, Division 1. But instead of saying it’s intrinsically safe, we’re saying that it’s utilizing double protection,” Martell said during an interview.
Martell said FM Approvals is seeking to create a double-protection alternative for the LMR industry, because ANSI typically does not allow two intrinsic-safety standards to be created in the same product category.
ANSI will consider comments on the proposal before deciding whether to grant FM Approvals permission to create a new standard, Martell said. If ANSI approves the proposal, FM Approvals would work with representatives of the LMR industry to establish a double-protection standard that would enable radios to be used in the most hazardous environments, he said.
In addition to the FM Approvals initiative, the LMR industry is pursuing new intrinsic-safety standards for the LMR industry through the International Society of Automation (ISA) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), said Bob Speidel, regulatory and standards advisor for Harris.
“A month ago, we really didn’t have any paths open to us looking to the future,” Speidel said. “Within the last month, we’ve gone from zero paths to three paths.
“I feel good about our prospects on any one of the three paths. I believe that the LMR user community has been heard and is being listened to. People are reacting in accordance with it to try to mitigate whatever damage a blanket adoption of the original standard would have incurred.”
Fred Moloznik, senior director of product safety and regulatory compliance for Motorola Solutions, said he also is “encouraged” by the three-pronged approach to resolving the intrinsic-safety issue for the LMR industry, but he would like some clarification on certain aspects.
“While these are encouraging developments, it’s not crystal clear to us which is the best path,” Moloznik said. “But there’s three avenues we’re looking into, and we’re actually doing work on them — we’re not just talking about them.”
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