Dust zones next to gas zones
Solid dosage manufacture can put a Zone 21 or 22 area near a vapour area. The IS-04Z1 is designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 and is being certified with that combination in mind, so one handset covers both.
Switzerland · Roche
Explosion proof mobile phone for Roche in Switzerland
Roche is headquartered in Basel, and its Swiss pharmaceutical operations include sterile and solid-dose production at Kaiseraugst, a short way up the Rhine. This page is for the EHS, engineering and site-services staff who need an explosion proof mobile phone in Switzerland for the few areas where gas or dust is present. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and in certification, and Roche has no relationship with SAMS. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · certification programme in progress
Local approvalVGSEB · ATEX through the MRASwiss VGSEB aligned to ATEX 2014/34/EU · in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
The sites · Basel and Kaiseraugst
What counts as classified when an explosion proof mobile phone goes to Roche sites
Roche's Basel base combines a headquarters, research and development, and pharmaceutical technical development with a very large office population. Kaiseraugst, about fifteen kilometres to the east, is described by Roche as a main manufacturing centre for sterile drug products, including monoclonal antibodies, and one of its worldwide centres of excellence for sterile parenteral manufacture. The site has also been expanded to produce solid dosage forms such as tablets and capsules. That tells you where the hazard sits. Sterile filling and biologics production are mostly not explosive environments, but the surrounding infrastructure is: solvent stores, alcohol-based cleaning and disinfection, laboratory solvents in analytical and development work, utilities and gas supplies, and powder handling in tablet and capsule manufacture, where fine dust and sometimes solvent granulation produce zone questions. A handset for these places is for a defined group of people: maintenance and engineering technicians, laboratory and process-development staff, utilities operators and construction contractors. Classification belongs to the site's explosion protection document, and the device has to match it.
Work and logistics
- Basel
- Headquarters, research and development and technical development laboratories.
- Kaiseraugst
- Sterile drug product manufacture and, more recently, solid dosage forms.
- Logistics
- Pharmaceutical distribution and warehousing near the Rhine corridor.
- Maintenance and engineering
- Technicians who move between clean, controlled and classified areas.
- Contractors
- Cleanroom, mechanical and electrical contractors work on live pharmaceutical sites.
- Validated operations
- Changes to equipment and documents follow quality procedures.
Where Ex questions arise
- Process development laboratories
- Solvents used in small volumes, with local extraction.
- Solvent and alcohol storage
- Cleaning and disinfection agents held in bulk and decanted.
- Solid dosage production
- Powder handling, granulation and coating where dust zones are likely.
- Utilities and energy plant
- Fuel gas, steam and compressed air systems.
- Sterile filling suites
- Controlled, not normally classified; the handset is not intended for them.
- Warehouses
- Mostly safe areas, with flammable-liquid cabinets in places.
Built for the work
What Roche-type pharmaceutical sites ask of a handset
The device is for a small number of people in specific rooms. These points decide whether it is useful to them.
IP ratingIP68
Battery4,000 mAh
Camera50 MP
OSAndroid 16
Data discipline around a camera
Pharmaceutical sites take photography seriously. Android Enterprise and the company's MDM let IT define where the camera may be used, and the 50 MP camera is available for the inspections that are permitted.
Surviving a wipe-down routine
IP68 sealing is designed so the device can be wiped down between rooms. The approved cleaning agents on a Roche site should be checked against the manual before routine use.
A Basel working week in several languages
German, French and Italian interfaces are available under Android 16, and information supplied with the product must be in the official language of the place of sale.
Use cases · Roche
Where the IS-04Z1 goes to work at Basel and Kaiseraugst.
Maintenance01
Planned preventive maintenance
A technician working through a preventive maintenance round in a granulation or coating area records readings and photographs a worn seal without returning to a safe-area terminal.
Laboratory02
Solvent handling checks
A development laboratory checks extraction, solvent storage and waste. A managed handset gives a timestamped photographic record against the room.
Contractors03
Refit and qualification projects
Contractors on a refit receive a permit and area drawing on the handset, and report progress without handing over a personal phone.
Questions · Roche
Frequently asked questions
Do Roche's sterile production areas need an Ex phone?
Generally not. Sterile filling and biologics production are controlled environments but are not usually classified as explosive atmospheres. The IS-04Z1 is for the solvent, powder and utility areas where classification exists, as decided by the site.
What does a Swiss pharmaceutical company need to see from a handset supplier?
We have not been through a Roche approval and will not describe one. Ask the site's procurement and EHS teams for the equipment approval requirements, the classification of the areas concerned and the documents they want alongside the ATEX or IECEx certificate.
Is the certificate European or Swiss?
Both, in effect. Switzerland applies the VGSEB, SR 734.6, which mirrors the ATEX directive, and the mutual recognition agreement with the EU means a notified body assessment is recognised. Certification of the IS-04Z1 is in progress and no certificate has been issued.
Can the handset be managed with our existing tools?
It runs Android 16 with Android Enterprise and is designed to be managed from existing MDM consoles. Compatibility with a particular console should be confirmed during an evaluation.
Enquiry · Roche
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for Roche, Switzerland
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 Switzerland. 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.
Enquiry · Roche
Launching Q4 2026
Evaluating the IS-04Z1 for this site?
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule for your market.