An explosion proof mobile phone for German pharmaceutical and fine chemical plants has to cope with something most heavy chemical sites do not ask of it: a room that is both a hazardous area and a regulated production space. Merck's Darmstadt site, its pigment plant at Gernsheim, Wacker's silicon and silicone complex at Burghausen and the producers at Industriepark Höchst all combine solvent vapour, hydrogen and powder under one roof. This page is for the Ex-Schutz, quality and engineering staff who judge a handset there. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · ATEX programme in progress
Active ingredient production is batch work. A reactor is charged with solvent, held at temperature, the product is filtered, dried and milled, and the solvent is recovered by distillation before the next campaign. That puts a Zone 1 solvent area and a dust area in the same building, often within a few metres. Wacker's chain at Burghausen is different chemistry with the same dual risk: chlorosilanes, hydrogen and silicon powder alongside finished silicone products.
A handset here is cleaned more often and questioned more closely than at a refinery. These are the points evaluators raise.
Common process solvents sit in gas groups IIA and IIB, such as acetone, ethanol and toluene, while hydrogen is IIC. Some solvents ignite at low temperatures, so the temperature class, not just the group, decides whether a handset suits a given suite. The target marking is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4.
Zone 21 dust protection is part of the same certification programme. Fine active powders are the reason a purely gas-rated device is not enough in milling and drying areas.
IP68 sealing is aimed at wet cleaning. Disinfectants and cleaning solvents attack some housing materials, so ask for the materials list and test the agent your plant uses before any approval.
A 50 MP camera is useful for a deviation report, but whether a photograph counts as a GMP record is a decision for the quality unit, not for HSE.
Android Enterprise management from an existing MDM console can disable the camera or restrict applications by group, which is the usual condition for a controlled production area.
Operators move between reactor bays, sample points and the control room against a batch record. The handset carries the checklist and a call to the shift lead without a trip back to a safe area.
Between campaigns a suite is cleaned, checked and released by quality. Engineers photograph a fault, raise a work order and record the change on the same device, within whatever the quality unit permits.
Annual and multi-year shutdowns bring contractor crews into live parks such as Höchst and Burghausen. A handset enrolled for the job and removed afterwards keeps the permit and photo record in one place.
The product side is ATEX 2014/34/EU, with a notified body's certificate once issued. The operator side is BetrSichV and TRBS 2152, so each suite's zone, gas group and temperature class are recorded in the Explosionsschutzdokument. In a pharmaceutical plant a second set of rules applies on top: the quality system decides whether a new device may enter a controlled room.
We have not verified any specific company's supplier registration and do not describe one. Ask the operator's procurement, HSE and quality teams for their requirements before a unit enters a production building.
No. It is pre-launch, and ATEX and IECEx certification are in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. Until a certificate exists it should not be taken into a classified area.
That is the design aim. The gas marking target is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 and Zone 21 dust protection sits in the same programme. What matters is the entry for each suite in the Explosionsschutzdokument, and the handset is compared with the strictest one on the route.
That is the quality unit's decision, not ours. Expect questions about cleaning agents, data on the device and whether photographs may be taken, and expect MDM policy to be part of the answer.
Not the same substances. Chlorosilanes, hydrogen and silicon dust differ from solvent vapour and active powders, so the Explosionsschutzdokument for each plant sets the gas group and temperature class separately.
Tell us the site, the zone and gas group, and roughly how many handsets. The SAMS team replies by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule for Germany. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and certification is in progress, so there is no list price yet; indicative pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule for your market.
