How do you make Hazardous Area products easier to specify, order, and deploy; without compromising safety or compliance?

By embedding proven engineering expertise into a rule-based digital system that guides every decision, removes friction, and gives customers clarity from the very first interaction.

Simplicity as a Design Principle

Digital transformation isn’t just about speed or efficiency. At Extronics, it’s about making complex, safety‑critical decisions easier for everyone involved starting with customers and extending through sales, engineering, and manufacturing.

By embedding our engineering expertise into a rule‑based automation framework, we’ve taken something inherently complicated and made it intuitive, consistent, and transparent.

This story comes from our Hazardous Area Connectivity Portfolio, specifically our wireless enclosures, where we design configurable hazardous area solutions that balance compliance, performance, and deployment efficiency.

The Challenge: Complexity, Scale, and Time Pressure

Hazardous area products are rarely simple. Every enclosure, wireless solution, or system configuration must account for:

• Global certification requirements for hazardous locations and hazardous areas (ATEX, IECEx, Class/Division)
• Mechanical and certification constraints of the selected product
• Environmental conditions, including explosive atmospheres, combustible dust or fibers, and temperature limitations
• Wireless device constraints such as:
  • Physical size of the device
  • Power dissipation
  • Power requirements
  • Electrical connections
  • Antenna connections
  • Physical mounting

Historically, this meant an engineer‑to‑order (ETO) process was required where:

• A salesperson would request a technical assessment
• An engineer would review and adapt a design
• Documentation would be generated manually

As similar orders came in over time, subtle differences emerged. The requirements were the same, but interpretations varied, despite everyone aiming for the same outcome.

When demand grew, so did friction:

• Quotes could take hours or days
• Engineering teams were stretched to capacity

The challenge wasn’t expertise, it was scalability.

The Shift: Capturing Engineering Judgement as Rules

Rather than relying on ad‑hoc decisions, we made a deliberate shift: capture engineering logic once and reuse it.

Using DriveWorks design automation, we translated years of engineering knowledge into a structured, rule‑based system:

• If/then logic reflects real engineering decisions
• Dimensional limits, material rules, and compliance constraints are built in
• CAD (Computer-Aided Design) models, drawings, and bills of materials update automatically

This isn’t artificial intelligence. It’s something more deliberate. Engineering judgement, digitized.

Ease for Customers: Faster Answers, Clearer Decisions

For customers, the biggest difference is speed and certainty.

Instead of waiting for technical assessments, customers now receive clear, accurate responses in real time as the configuration rules validate each decision.

Product configurations are guided by built-in engineering rules, so every option offered is:

• Valid
• Hazardous area compliant
• Achievable from the outset

This means customers can:

• See exactly what is possible without back-and-forth clarification
• Receive accurate quotations in minutes, not hours or days
• Trust that what’s specified will be built exactly as expected

The process repetition and delay between “this is what I need” and “this is what you’ll get” has been removed.

Expertise Applied Where It Matters Most

By automating routine configuration work, our engineers are freed to focus on more complex and bespoke requirements. Instead of reworking familiar options, engineering effort is directed toward:

• Solving unique challenges
• Refining designs
• Developing new capabilities

Behind the scenes, the rules that guide each configuration are continuously reviewed and improved. Every case feeds back into the system, so future customers benefit from what’s already been learned.

What started as a way to speed things up has become a platform for better solutions; giving customers access to more innovation, without added complexity.

Clear Timelines, Predictable Delivery

For customers, predictability is just as important as speed.

Within minutes of an order being placed, the exact bill of materials is known. Components required to deploy access points in hazardous locations are identified early, and future requirements are visible weeks or even months ahead. This clarity allows production to move faster and with fewer unknowns.

The result is:

• More reliable lead times
• Fewer delays caused by late material availability
• Greater confidence that delivery commitments will be met

Because sales, engineering, and manufacturing all rely on the same rule-based automation, customers can be confident that what’s agreed is exactly what gets built and delivered.

Making the Complicated Feel Effortless

At its core, this approach is about respect for everyone’s time:

• Respecting customers by making specifications clear and transparent
• Respecting sales teams by removing unnecessary friction
• Respecting engineers by capturing and reusing their expertise

Through digitizing what we know best, we’ve taken something complicated and made it feel easy, without ever lowering the bar on safety or compliance.

When engineering knowledge is structured and reused in this way, rule-based automation becomes a dependable foundation for scalable configurators and repeatable engineering workflows.

Interested in seeing how our configurators work or discussing a specific application?  Speak to the Extronics team to explore configurable solutions for hazardous areas and locations, built on digitalized engineering expertise.

Try The Configurator

About the Author

NS

Nick Saunders

Operations Director

Nick is the Operations Director for the Bartec Extronics Production Unit, overseeing Operations, Supply Chain, Configured Products, and Technical Services. With 25 years of ATEX/IECEx hazardous area engineering experience, he brings deep expertise and a commitment to quality, safety, and continuous improvement. Known for driving automation and process enhancements, Nick focuses on removing obstacles so the team can achieve their goals. Outside of work, he enjoys family life with his wife, children, and two dogs, and is a dedicated Everton fan.

Last updated on March 3, 2026

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