In the high-stakes world of oil and gas operations, every minute of a shutdown directly translates to significant costs. This critical need for efficient operations extends beyond oil and gas to other hazardous industrial settings, including chemical plants and mining sites. Whether it’s lost production, delayed maintenance schedules, or increased safety risks, inefficient lighting often becomes a silent, yet substantial, contributor to operational cost increases.
Traditional lighting systems in these environments frequently pose challenges. They are often bulky, time-consuming to install, and simply not designed for the complexities of hazardous zones or potentially explosive atmospheres. Furthermore, ensuring stringent regulatory compliance, including adherence to international standards like IECEx and the European Union’s ATEX directives, is paramount for safety and legal requirements. MineGlow’s SafeGlo IECEx LED strip lighting offers a modern, Australian-engineered alternative-portable, fully compliant, and built specifically to handle the toughest maintenance environments.
Selecting a portable IECEx/ATEX strip lighting solution for hazardous areas demands a structured design process, as it directly impacts operational safety and plays a key role in explosion prevention, while providing much needed temporary lighting improvements.
Below, we outline the top five ways our portable MineGlow EX Zone Lighting solution, assist maintenance teams, reduce downtime and significantly boost operational efficiency.
Understanding Hazardous Areas: Why EX Zone Lighting Matters
Hazardous areas are defined as environments where the presence of flammable gases, vapors, or dust creates a higher risk of explosion or fire. In these settings, the right EX zone lighting fixtures are not just a convenience-they are essential for safety and compliance.
Lighting fixtures in hazardous areas must be robust enough to withstand extreme temperatures, resist corrosion, and perform reliably under harsh conditions. Modern explosion-proof lighting, particularly advanced LED solutions, are meticulously designed to contain any sparks or heat generated by electrical components within a sealed enclosure. This ensures it prevents being a source of ignition, which is absolutely critical for maintaining operational continuity, protecting both personnel and equipment..
By investing in lighting solutions that are purpose-built for temporary lighting for hazardous areas, companies can significantly improve safety, reduce the risk of safety incidents, and reduce maintenance downtime.
1. Rapid Deployment and Removal
Conventional lighting for explosive atmospheres, often require time-consuming installation by specialised personnel and will take several hours, or personnel resort to using torches with inadequate lighting. In contrast, SafeGlo’s flexible strip lighting can be installed and removed in minutes by the maintenance crew itself.
Each strip can span up to 30 metres from a single portable explosion proof power supply, weighing less than 20kg and installed with fail safe ‘plug n play’ connectors. This allows teams to begin work faster during shutdowns and maintenance operations. Additionally, portable EX zone lighting can be managed and monitored from a single location, further streamlining deployment and reducing downtime.
Key Advantage: Reduces setup and teardown time across multiple zones, accelerating project timelines and reducing downtime.
2. Consistent Lighting in Confined and Harsh Environments
Hazardous areas like LNG tanks, ship holds, tunnels, offshore platforms and onshore processing facilities present extreme physical and environmental conditions. Portable EX lighting must be both adaptable and durable.
SafeGlo’s silicone-encased LED strips are flexible enough to roll up onto a reel, weighing less than 20kg and has a slim profile (10mm H x 20mm W). Thus can be carried by one person.
For challenging confined spaces like storage or ballast tanks, the MineGlow EX rated lighting solution offers a revolutionary installation method. Their exceptional flexibility and slim profile means they can be easily fed through narrow openings, such as breather holes, eliminating the need for complex entry procedures. Once inside, the lightweight strip simply unrolls and connects to the portable power supply, instantly providing comprehensive, high-quality illumination where traditional rigid fixtures simply cannot reach.
The design prevents water ingress (IP67), which is critical for durability in harsh environments. SafeGlo lighting is engineered and fully IECEX certified with Class I and Zones 1/21 and 2/22 certification. Engineered for marine conditions and exposure to hazardous substances like oil, gas, chemicals & dust.
Key Advantage: Enables rapid, single-person deployment of flexible explosion proof light strips in hard to access areas to provide ‘daylight’ lighting conditions.
3. Glare-Free Illumination Improves Visibility and Safety
Conventional lights often produce shadows or glare or are simply inadequate, leading to reduced visibility and higher risk of accidents during inspections and repairs. Maintaining appropriate light output is crucial for visibility and safety in hazardous environments.
For more detail on how SafeGlo manages light output for optimal safety, see the following section.
SafeGlo LED strip lights deliver even, shadow free, low-glare illumination. This not only enhances visibility in tight and complex workspaces but also improves task accuracy-minimising errors, rework, and safety incidents that cause unexpected downtime.
Key Advantage: Improves worker safety and performance, especially in detailed maintenance or inspection tasks.
4. Lower Maintenance Burden
Explosion-proof lighting must operate flawlessly. However, traditional rigid fixtures are often prone to corrosion, vibration-related damage, and complex replacement processes.
SafeGlo’s long-lasting LED technology with a fully sealed construction with our C-Mask™️ technology to repel dirt, helps eliminate many of these concerns. Its durability minimises the need for frequent replacements, which reduces maintenance costs by up to 47%. Its low power consumption and reduced need for replacement components translate into fewer maintenance cycles.
Key Advantage: Cuts down on lighting-related maintenance costs by reducing frequent replacements and avoids disruptions caused by fixture failure.
5. Portability for Multi-Site Reuse
Once a shutdown is completed, traditional lighting is often dismantled and stored, but not easily reused. In contrast, SafeGlo strips are lightweight, durable, rollable light fixtures-ideal for redeployment across a site or project with explosive atmospheres.
For operators managing multiple rigs, terminals, or pipeline corridors, this reusability of portable light fixtures becomes a cost-saving asset that streamlines procurement and improves logistics.
Key Advantage: One lighting solution can be redeployed across many locations, reducing both inventory and downtime between projects.
Environmental Considerations: Sustainable and Compliant Lighting Choices
Sustainability and compliance are extremely important when selecting lighting systems for hazardous areas. Choosing energy efficient lighting solutions, such as LED lighting, not only helps reduce energy costs but also minimises the environmental impact of your operations. LED chipsets are known for their low power consumption and long lifespan (50,000 hours), which translates to lower maintenance costs and fewer replacements over time.
In addition to being energy efficient, the MineGlow explosion proof LED lighting solutions have attained EPD certification for both its energy efficiency and its use of environmentally friendly materials.
By prioritising sustainable and compliant lighting options, businesses will reduce their environmental footprint, whilst lowering operational costs and create a safer, more efficient work environment for everyone on site.
Industry Applications: Where Portable EX Zone Lighting Makes a Difference
Portable EX zone lighting plays a vital role in industries where hazardous areas are part of daily operations. In sectors such as chemical processing, oil and gas, and mining, the ability to quickly deploy reliable lighting solutions can be critical for both safety and productivity.
These portable lighting systems, often featuring advanced slim profile LED strip lights, are designed to provide bright, consistent illumination in environments exposed to extreme temperatures, corrosive chemicals, and the risk of explosive atmospheres. Their portability allows teams to quickly move lighting to where it’s needed most, whether for routine inspections, emergency repairs, or temporary work zones.
By using portable EX zone lighting, businesses can improve operational efficiency, reduce downtime, and enhance worker safety. The use of corrosion-resistant materials and robust construction ensures that these lighting solutions can, repeatedly, withstand the toughest conditions, making them a dependable choice for any hazardous area.
Emergency-Ready Lighting for Critical Situations
Unexpected outages and emergencies are a constant threat in hazardous zones. That’s why many operators use SafeGlo explosion proof lighting, not only for standard operations, but also as part of their emergency response setup. Emergency lighting is crucial in these environments to ensure safety and visibility during power failures or other hazardous incidents.
Its compatibility with portable EX-rated power supplies with battery backup, ensures that even if the grid fails or there is a power failure, SafeGlo provides reliable emergency lighting so that critical areas remain lit-allowing for safe evacuation, inspection, or repair.
Key Advantage: Provides fail-safe lighting during unexpected power outages, helping maintain safety and compliance.
Best Practices for Implementing Portable EX Zone Lighting
To get the most out of portable EX zone lighting, it’s important to follow best practices throughout the selection, installation, and maintenance process. Start by choosing lighting fixtures that are specifically designed for explosive atmospheres and with the appropriate IECEx, ATEX, WTL certifications required. These fixtures should be installed by qualified personnel to ensure compliance with safety standards and optimal performance.
Regular maintenance procedures, including routine inspections and timely replacement of components, are essential for preventing costly repairs and reducing downtime. Opting for energy efficient lighting systems, like those using advanced LEDs, can help reduce energy costs and minimize the environmental impact of your lighting setup.
By implementing these best practices, businesses can improve safety, reduce operational risks, and ensure that their lighting systems deliver reliable performance in even the most challenging hazardous environments.
Smarter Lighting for Safer, Faster Operations
MineGlow’s SafeGlo is more than just a portable hazardous area light. It’s a high-performance, highly durable, explosion-proof lighting solution that helps maintenance and turnaround teams cut downtime by up to 50%, improve safety, and meet compliance standards with confidence.
Designed with operational efficiency in mind, it supports the demands of oil and gas maintenance in the harshest environments across Australia and beyond.
Ready to Upgrade Your EX Zone Lighting?
MineGlow supports Australia’s oil, gas, and industrial sectors with:
- Locally stocked SafeGlo IECEx LED strip lighting
- Portable EX-rated power supply solutions
- Technical support and fast turnaround times
- Higher ambient temperature ratings than most LED lights on the market
Speak With a MineGlow Specialist Today
Discover how SafeGlo can transform your shutdowns, inspections, and emergency preparedness with one of the most advanced portable lighting systems available.
