A major safety concern defined in "hazardous locations" is the occurrence of fires and explosions due to presence of flammable gases, vapors, dusts or fibers. Hazardous locations (HL) are usually found in industrial facilities where explosive liquids, gases or dusts are present. No other aspect of industrial safety receives more attention in the form of codes, standards, technical papers, and engineering design.

Regulatory bodies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Electrical Code (NEC) and the NFPA 70 have established classification systems for locations which exhibit potentially dangerous conditions and hazards.  They define the types of hazardous substances that are, or may be, present in the air in quantities sufficient to produce explosive or ignitable mixtures.  Hazardous location requirements exist not only to prevent a fire or explosion, but also to contain the fire or explosion should it occur.  OSHA provides guidelines for specially designed equipment and special installation techniques must be used to protect against the explosive and flammable potential of these substances.

Hazardous locations are broken into different categories called “Classes” and “Divisions” in NEC’s Article 500 Hazardous (Classified) Locations – Classes I, II, and III, Divisions 1 and 2. The NEC imposes strict requirements for cabling methods in these locations which are permissible by the code-making bodies, also known in the ICT industry as the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), with safety being the most critical consideration. The “Classes” define the type of explosive or ignitable substances which are present in the atmosphere or could be present.  The “Groups” define substances within the Classes and are rated by their flammable nature in relation to other known substances. The “Divisions” apply to the specific conditions and the likelihood of the specific substances in the Groups to exist in the areas.  

The process of classifying an area is often complex, so it is generally determined by the facility’s engineering staff. Buildings are not classified, but areas within the building are.  “Class I, Division 1” is the most hazardous classification. Notice that the ignitables  get bigger as the class number increases. Unfortunately, there isn’t always a clear boundary.  Often there are areas that have a mix of particle sizes.

Some examples of Class 1 areas are:

• Petroleum refineries, and gasoline storage and dispensing areas;
• Dry cleaning plants where vapors from cleaning fluids can be present;
• Spray finishing areas;
• Aircraft hangars and fuel servicing areas; and
• Utility gas plants, and operations involving storage and handling of liquified petroleum gas or natural gas.

Selecting Proper Cable and Following Best Installation Practices 

Each type of hazardous location requires specific types of cable and installation methods. Approved wiring methods range from a rigid, highly impenetrable type of cable, such as Type MI (mineral insulated cable), to a raceway system such as metallic conduit. Cable glands (cable entry devices) used in hazardous locations are intended to provide the safe connection of suitable cables to enclosures, maintaining the explosion protection and ingress properties of equipment.  Cable glands provide a degree of environmental and ingress protection required for the equipment they are being connected to and the hazardous location for which they are being installed in. NEC prescribe the requirements for both cable glands and cables.

The NEC defines the types of cables that can be used in hazardous locations, and UL provides the means to approve cables for the US. The various cable types, in conjunction with the appropriate terminations, must provide a system that significantly limits or completely eliminates the possibility of an electrical arc or spark igniting the surrounding flammable gases, vapors, dusts or fibers. The approved cable types range from extremely rigid and impermeable mineral-insulated, metal-sheathed Type MI cables and MC-HL and ITC-HL cables with gas/vapor-tight continuous corrugated metallic sheaths to unarmored, highly flexible Type TC-ER-HL cables and flexible cords.

Cable allowed for use in Class I Division 1 are limited, with a few exceptions, to type MC-HL, ITC-HL, and TCER-HL under special conditions.  NEC provides requirements for equipment (including cables) installed in HL areas which includes:

• Identification for use in the Class and Grouping of the location
• Meets specific eternal or exposed surface temperature requirement
• Marked to show its temperature range and the environment for which it has been evaluated 

In jurisdictions following IEC requirements, there are product standards for hazardous location cable glands. However, unlike NEC, IEC does not identify specific product standards for hazardous location cables, but provides installation cable requirements according to the IEC 60079-14. And although this standard provides guidance for the minimum requirements for cable installation, it does not define specific tests or construction specifically for hazardous location cable.  IEC recommends certain cable properties, such as jacketing materials not to be an “easy tear” type (i.e. with low tensile strength sheaths) unless installed in conduit, jacketing to be extruded and constructed of  thermoplastic, thermosetting or elastomeric materials and any fillers need to be water blocking.  

Tough Cable Challenges and an Easy Solution

In addition to the cable’s robust construction needed to perform in severe environments,  one of the biggest challenges for Ethernet cable is the 100m distance limitations.   In harsh environment locations, such as the Class I areas mentioned above, the distances from the telecommunications room (TR) to the devices often exceeds 100m.  Adding an additional termination point, whether a telecom enclosure or an additional TR is just not feasible or cost effective.

The GameChanger™ Cable, which was designed to deliver both data and power (PoE) far beyond the Ethernet distance limitations for Category cable, is now available in a version specifically developed for harsh locations.  This cable is classified as ITC-HL (instrumentation tray cable for hazardous locations), meeting UL2250 and UL2225 listings for 300V copper conductors for use in Class 1, Division 1 (CI/DI) hazardous locations.

This GameChanger cable consists of 22 AWG copper conductors with FEP insulation and manufactured with an inner jacket covered by a continuously corrugated welded (CCW) armoring and then sheathed with an outer PVC jacket.   This cable is ROHS-2 compliant, sunlight resistant and can be direct buried.  The operating temperature has a wide range of -50°C to +90°C which assures reliable performance in all severe environments. With the CI/D1 rating this armored cable allows installers to skip the expensive and time-consuming installation of rigid pipe or conduit, and with a reach that goes well over two times traditional cable, saving a significant amount of time and money. 

All  GameChanger cables deliver 1Gb/s Ethernet and PoE+ up to 656 feet (200 meters) and 10Mb/s Ethernet and PoE+ up to 850 feet making it an ideal pairing for explosion proof cameras, WAPs and other edge devices. This cable eliminates intermediate IDF requirements and the need to install repeaters, power supplies and other equipment, which are costly and introduce additional points of failure.

A Creative Solution to Warehouse Wi-Fi Connectivity

When installing a Multigigabit Wi-Fi system in a large facility like a warehouse, how can you run the Ethernet cabling long enough to provide proper connectivity and PoE to the Wireless Access Points (WAP), without additional IDFs, boosters or extenders? In this video, you will see how Creative Security Solutions of Piscataway, NJ simplified the design of this 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi deployment.

These days, wireless and mobile technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and 802.11ac Wave 2 have revolutionized how warehouse’s function. Their efficiency and productivity now often hinge on having a robust and reliable wireless infrastructure. The installation needs to satisfy the expectation, today and in the future - of multigigabit speed – without dead zones and constant disconnections of the multitude of wireless devices that keep a modern warehouse operation going strong. 

It remains a fact that the wireless Internet in a facility like a large warehouse depends on extended cable runs to provide the power and the connectivity to the network backbone. In situations like these, installers and end users have normally had to make compromises like:

• allocating precious square footage for IDFs or MDFs (instead of warehouse rack space)
• installing boosters/extenders up in the ceiling where servicing those devices requires renting a scissors lift (expensive, time consuming, etc.)

On this video, you will see how Creative Security Solutions very much lived up to its name and found a solution to this challenge – running cable an extended distance from “Point A to Point B” to implement Multi-Gig Wi-Fi across a massive warehouse space - with “no extra equipment” and “no extra costs.”

Hint: It is a GameChanger!

For more information on how the explosion in wireless technology and Wi-Fi is driving the future of network connectivity and infrastructure, be sure to read this previous blog post by Carol Oliver.

When COVID-19 emerged, the entire country learned the true meaning of “essential work.”  “Healthcare” instantly rose to the top as the most essential business in the world.  Through this pandemic, it became essential that healthcare facilities have the right medical equipment for treatment, but also a robust communications system.  From real-time telemedicine, medical testing, extensive research and the ability to access universal medical records, the network infrastructure became the fundamental vehicle to transport the data faster and more efficiently than ever before, whether within the confines of one hospital or out to a multitude of facilities worldwide. As a result, the network has become the heartbeat of any healthcare facility. 

Healthcare networks are expanding exponentially to face the challenges of managing diverse information such as patient records and bandwidth intensive scans and virtual diagnostic information.  The amount of data that must be created, transmitted, managed and stored continues to increase dramatically.  In addition, the broad adoption of standards-based electronic health record (EHR) system, which was implemented over a decade ago, created a global health information exchange. The use of this technology for clinical decision support improves patient care and ultimately can lower healthcare costs by facilitating communication, coordination, and collaboration among healthcare providers.  

Many healthcare facilities have been re-evaluating their capability to deliver the technology needed in the healthcare environment today.  Many significant life-changing advancements in patient care, diagnostic and research are supported by both wired and wireless technologies attached to the network infrastructure, which are constantly evolving.

Addressing Healthcare Infrastructure Challenges

System designers, consultants and I.T. managers who have faced the challenges of incorporating all of the growing healthcare applications, attest that there are many differences compared to planning an enterprise network for an office facility.  These differences include a broader scope of applications which lead to increased outlet and device densities with their diverse termination locations, higher bandwidths and in more challenging installation environments.

To aid in the design and installation are two industry cabling standards, TIA-1179-A Healthcare Facility Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard, first published in 2010, revised in 2017; and ANSI/BICSI-004 Information Communication Technology Systems Design and Implementation Best Practices for Healthcare Institutions and Facilities, first published in 2012 and revised in 2018. The TIA standard addresses specific structured cable types for the backbone and horizontal, pathway and telecom room planning and recognizes the difference of outlet densities, depending on the different applications required for the specific facility areas (such as a waiting room versus and operating room). The BICSI standard builds upon the TIA document but hones in on providing guidance on the cabling layouts to address the diverse IP applications and system integration methods.  Some of these applications include clinical and non-clinical IP-based systems such as building automation systems, nurse and code calls, paging, wayfinding, emergency radio, medical imaging, patient monitoring, television and A/V, and security and safety.  

Each healthcare environment is unique and creates its own set of challenges and network priorities.  Some of the major infrastructure concerns when planning network expansion, as addressed in the standards, include:
• Protected pathways – separating data cable from other services, such as gasses and liquids that may share the same above-ceiling spaces. In addition, pathways must be firestopped to eliminate the spread of fire as well as protect clean air within the facility.
• Bandwidth and data storage – MRI files and other advanced medical imaging files, such as Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS), are bandwidth intensive.  In addition to transmitting these files, networks also need to provide long-range storage which can vary from as little as seven years up to a lifetime, will translate to constant additions of servers and SANs to these facilities.  
• Telecom Rooms (TRs) – as more and more IP devices are being added to the network, telecom rooms must be sized by number of applications, not necessarily by the number of users or floor size that it is serving.
• Outlet densities – the number of outlets and cables per area will also depend on the amount of applications needed to that workstation area. 

Unique Cabling Solution

Staying on top of the IP application boom in healthcare means revamping and updating the existing infrastructure to meet the application bandwidth demands and device densities.  This includes substantially increasing the cabling runs. In healthcare facilities, the TR should be dependent on the densities of applications on each floor and for each area, which may include custom designs and solutions. 

One of the biggest growth areas is employing wireless for more than just voice and text communications.  Mobile applications allow patients and medical professionals to access medical records and provide online diagnostics, but within the facilities, the healthcare professionals rely on wireless communications for patient monitoring systems (such as physical activity, heart rate and other biometric functions), patient tracking and wayfinding.  More wireless applications require more wiring to the access points or sensors that enable these applications.

The biggest challenges to deploy increased IP applications, includes adding more connectivity to the equipment in the TRs and within the horizontal pathways to service the devices. Many of the older hospitals are struggling to find room for additional TRs and cabling.  And a major roadblock of installing cable on premises are the regulations that apply to infection control requirements (ICR). ICR limits the time allowed for installers to be onsite, as well as requiring the proper equipment such as HEPA carts and protective gear.  

System designers are looking at unique cabling solutions that would limit the installation disturbance by increasing the run lengths from the TR.  One solution is the GameChanger Cable™ which can provide both data and power to many devices that are well beyond that 100-meter limit. Paige’s patented GameChanger cable, which is UL-verified, delivers 1Gb/s Ethernet and PoE+ up to 656 feet (200 meters) and 10Mb/s Ethernet and PoE+ up to 850 feet making it an ideal for cameras, WAPs and other edge devices. This cable eliminates intermediate IDF or telecom enclosure requirements and the need to install repeaters, power supplies and other equipment, which are costly and introduce additional points of failure in the network. 

To meet increasing demands placed upon them, modern healthcare institutions must retool and rebuild.  This includes looking at solutions that fit their environment. There is not a “one-size-fits-all” as each application’s requirement and the location of the device will generate opportunities for creative solutions, such as the GameChanger.