Starting January 1, 2016, Motorola Solutions Intrinsically Safe radios will be accredited with the TIA-4950 standard for Hazardous Location certification of two-way radios by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and will no longer produce Intrinsically Safe two-way radios approved to the Factory Mutual (FM) standard FM3610_88, which expired in 2012.

As you and your radio fleet move into the new year with the new standard, keep these four things in mind to ensure a smooth transition:

1. FM radios will stay intrinsically safe. FM approved radios that are deployed in the field will maintain their FM Intrinsically Safe approval status, provided that any service and repairs are done at an FM audited repair facility. All Motorola radios shipped after January 1, 2016 will be UL certified, and FM approved aftermarket batteries will continue to be available for fielded units.
2. FM and UL approve the radio and battery together as a system. The FM approved battery may only be used on an FM approved radio, and the UL approved battery may only be used on a UL approved radio, otherwise the certification is not valid. However, your can operate with both FM and UL approved radios in your fleet.
3. New UL batteries will be marked, and made available throughout 2016. MOTOTRBO™ Radios and batteries certified to TIA-4950 have been available since Q1 2015. They are labelled clearly with the new UL markings: black label, white font, white dot. ASTRO 25 APX UL batteries are currently available for the APX 4000 series, and batteries for the other APX radios will be staggered throughout the first half of 2016.
4. Classification matters. Know Division, Class and Group rather than simply "FM Approved" or "Intrinsically Safe". Hazardous locations can be found in many industries, including refineries, fuel storage facilities, chemical plants, grain elevators and plastics processing plants. Motorola Solutions does not determine the need for hazardous location (hazloc) products, nor evaluates the environment. The need for hazloc products, and the classification of the specific environment, is determined by various jurisdictional authorities such as fire marshals, insurance providers, facility safety experts, etc. Check with your local authority to confirm the hazloc requirements for your fleet.

Find more information about the transition here, or contact your local Motorola Business Development Manager.

Dax Lopez is the Mission Critical Mobility Business Development Manager at Motorola Solutions.