Checkware: Digital checklists for potentially explosive areas (EX protection areas) in industry

New Solutions GmbH, a medium-sized provider of software solutions for the digitization of business processes on the “shop floor”, has expanded its standard checklist program Checkware for use with EX-protected cell phones and tablets. The Industry 4.0-capable application now also optimizes checklist management in potentially explosive areas in refineries or the chemical industry.

Digital checklists are increasingly being used today in hazardous goods and EX protection areas – which is due on the one hand to the number of light and robust EX-protected cell phones and tablets available. On the other hand, the legal requirements in the area of “environmental protection and compliance” have been tightened in recent years so that standardized, revision-proof processes, especially in the area of hazardous goods, are of critical importance to the company in view of the high sums of damage. “Currently more and more companies are considering switching from paper-based solutions to digital checklists,” confirms Christian Ehrenschwendtner, Managing Director of New Solutions GmbH in Burghausen.

The IT company has many years of experience with electronic checklists in the chemical and petrochemical industry. “When we started ten years ago, the first dangerous goods checklists were filled out with explosion-proof devices that weighed over three kilograms and hung on a shoulder strap,” recalls Ehrenschwendtner. “Today’s devices with Android and Windows 10 operating systems are not only significantly smaller and lighter, but also far more powerful. They are therefore much better suited for complex Industry 4.0 applications “.